A String of Events
by CatG0d
Summary: A year after the events in Resident Evil 6, Jake Muller decides to travel back to the United States to get intel on the woman in the blue dress who captured him and Sherry, only to find himself wrapped up in another mess involving the Umbrella Corporation. In this sequel to RE6, Jake and the gang must race against the clock before history repeats itself. JakexSherry, LeonxAda.
1. Encounter

Resident Evil

Prologue

The streets of Edonia are empty. Isolated. Completely desolate. Nothing but the sound of the wind filled the empty streets. A scared, lonely boy hides in an abandoned shack, frightened by what lurks outside. Monsters that not even he could dream of prowled the streets now, and the boy cowers away from the windows, backing up into what seemed like a brick wall.

No, what it was, was a man in a cloak masking his face. He loomed over the boy as if he wanted something, but his attention was brought to the door, and he made his way to it. The man paused, peering ominously through a crack in the door. Before opening it, his head turned to the small boy who stood there, watching him quietly.

"I believe we had a deal?" The man spoke up.

To the man's question, the quiet boy desperately looks though his pockets before handing a red apple to the stranger. He silently took it, opening the door finally and stepping outside, knowing very well what lurked in the streets.

The Edonian boy peered around the door frame, watching the man's back as he made his way to the middle of the street, the monsters coming out from their hiding places.

"Are you going to keep your promise?" He uttered, his voice shaking.

A moment after the boy's said question, the man reached to his cloak, ripping it off his body. A man, about 21 years of age with a buzzed haircut and a scar on the left side of his face was revealed to the boy. The man took out a Magnum, pointing it in the direction of the monsters which were coming closer and closer.

He took a bite of the apple that was in his left hand, and a devilish smirk appeared on his lips with a quick cock of his head.

"Fair's fair, kid."

Chapter One

Encounter

_ Dear Jake,_

_So much has happened since I last wrote you, and I've been dying to finally tell you about it. I've bought a place for myself with an apple tree in the back yard. It's a little big for just one person, but I think I'll get by. Leon, Chris, and Claire still come to see me every once in a while, Claire more than anyone! I think she's really happy that I'm finally out on my own, instead of being trapped in a prison. It feels so nice, finally being able to feel like an actual human being, you know? I'm still an Agent for National Security, but I have a different advisor now, as you would imagine. Doing so, I get to see more of Leon more and more. He asks me about you, but I can only shake my head, unable to tell him new things from the last time you wrote me. I hope you're doing alright, Jake. Try not to get yourself into too much trouble._

_ -Sherry_

The blonde set down her pen, folding the piece of paper she had just written on and placing it into an envelope. Picking up her pen again, she wrote the address in which the letter would be sent to. Blue orbs scanned her working space, unable to find a stamp to place in the corner of her letter.

She frowned, "Damn it." Sherry cursed silently to herself as she looked around. "I'm out of stamps."

Sherry slumped back in her chair in defeat with a tired sigh. "I guess I'll have to go to the post office and buy some more when I go to send this letter out." The sun shined through her window, onto her as she sat down at the desk she had where she wrote all her letters to Jake Muller—now known as Jake Wesker, although the public will never know of his relationship with Albert Wesker. The blonde's eyes found the letter again, sitting alone on her desk, the stamp missing from the corner. Her blue eyes lowered, worry drowning in them.

"What have you been doing all this time, Jake?" She asked silently, not for anyone to hear. "Where are you?"

The red-headed mercenary slumped against the wall, arms crossed, waiting for his flight to board. Hard blue optics scanned the area, observing the people around. The airport in Edonia wasn't particularly busy, so his flight was going to be on time.

All these people, they all probably didn't know who he was. He was just another lowly mercenary, a soldier for hire. Nothing more.

Jake couldn't help but think that there were so many questions that were left unanswered. His stone cold blue eyes looked off to the side, as the plane began to start boarding. He pushed himself off the wall, grabbing his bag and leading in the direction of the plane.

Who was the woman in the blue dress? Did she ever get what she deserved? Jake's main concern was her, and he wasn't going to rest until he found out what happened to her. What he knew was that she was a part of the bioterrorist organization Neo-Umbrella, and that was all Jake had to work with.

From what he remembered from one year ago, that woman was controlling the Ustanak, and she was the reason that Jake and Sherry were captured and put into that Chinese facility for six whole months. He cringed at the memory, thinking how awful it had to of been for Sherry to endure something like that for a second time.

_Sherry…_

The mercenary shook his head, cursing himself. He had forgotten to write her back, but he wouldn't have to. His plane was heading to the United States. Jake needed to speak with National Security and get some Intel on the bitch in the blue dress that caused the bioterrorist attacks in Edonia and China. Perhaps they have gained some information on the matter from the past year.

Jake sighed, feeling uneasy as he boarded his flight to the United States. What would happen once he got there? What would Sherry think? Or Leon, or that B.S.A.A guy—Chris Redfield? He had heard about his partner, Piers. About how he had died one year ago just shortly after saving him and Sherry. Turned out, Sherry was right. She even said they couldn't take that… thing alone. And Jake didn't listen to her.

Damn it. Just another thing he screwed up.

The other passengers boarded, getting seated and putting away their carry-on baggage. Jake, however, didn't have very much to take with him, so he found himself sitting down before anyone else on the plane. Other than a peculiar woman with a scarf wrapped over her head and across her face. She wore shades, as well. Odd for being on a plane, shielded by most of the light from outside.

Stone cold hues hardened in her direction, turning his head as he reached into his pocket to check his phone. No messages. Of course. He didn't know why he expected something to be there waiting in his inbox.

The red-headed mercenary crossed his arms as the flight attendant told everyone to fasten their safety belts, as the plane was about to take off. Jake shifted in his seat. That uneasiness rested in the pit of his stomach again. What was he shitting himself over? Maybe it wasn't the traveling. Or the unknowing of what was waiting for him when he got off. Slyly, the mercenary pulled out his cellphone again, lifting it high enough just to see behind him.

He was being watched.

That woman—sitting in the back row—she was suspicious.

_Just great_, Jake thought, _another pain-in-the-ass I have to worry about._

Jake tried to make it so the woman didn't know of his knowing of her watching, so he decided to just sit back in his seat and maybe take a little nap. That'll throw her off.

_Who is she, anyway? Why is she watching me?_

So many questioned gumbled around in his head, it was nearly impossible for him to get any sleep. The flight to the United States would be a while, so it only seemed the best way to kill some time.

The mercenary woke up with a start, eyes shooting open wide as his head shot up.

_How long was I asleep?_ He thought. Jake checked his watch. _Five hours_.

_Shit._

He looked over his shoulder to check for the woman, but to his surprise, she wasn't anywhere in sight. As a matter of fact, no one was. Jake stood up as his eyes scanned up and down the aisle. Not a soul could be seen anywhere on the plane.

The mercenary's eyebrows pulled together as his mind began to work, "What the hell is all this?" He spoke aloud, stepping backward as his form headed toward the front of the plane. There was no one there, either. Just an auto-pilot setting that piloted the plane in its regular course. "Shit." Where was everyone? What the hell was going on around here?

"I don't like the looks of all this, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm getting the hell off this god-forsaken plane!" The redhead said to himself as he made his way to the back of the plane, so he could make his escape however possible. It was quiet. Too quiet. And the room was masked with shadows.

What was great about security in Edonia, was that they failed to check his bags for weapons. A bit of luck on his part. From the back of his pants, Jake pulled out a Magnum and pointed it inside the room as he made his way through.

"Jake Muller," A woman's velvety voice pierced the sounds of the engines working to keep the plane up in the air. A figure emerged from the shadows, revealing a woman with a black bob haircut and a red button-up shirt. "Or should I say Jake Wesker?" Her hips swayed as she walked, almost cat-like.

She resembled the woman he remembered from one year ago, but he wasn't quite sure if he could match them together. But Jake wasn't taking any chances.

"Call me whatever the fuck you want to, you're just as dead." He said with a slight cock of his head. "I know who you are. You're the bitch who locked me and Sherry up in that Chinese facility one year ago."

This didn't seem to faze the woman, but she slowly put her hands up with a slight smirk on her face. "I'm afraid you've mixed me up with somebody else. But right now, there's no time for reminiscing." Her eyes glanced to the right, tempting Jake to look in which she was staring. "Over there is a bomb that is set to detonate in approximately two minutes. However, I tried to disable it, but my efforts until proved to be meaningless."

Jake stiffened his arms as he pointed his gun at the woman, "What about the other passengers?" He commanded, "Where the hell did they go? Who the hell _are you_, anyway?"

"Long story." She simply replied, beginning to walk toward the mercenary as she lowered her hands, "Now put down your gun. Your main concern right now should be escaping this plane with your life. Would you risk that over just figuring out a couple pieces of trivial information?"

Jake furrowed his brow as she made her way toward him, "Like I give a shit." His reflexes kicked in as he swung his arm in her direction, pointing his gun at the woman's head, but it seemed as if her reflexes were greater than his, as she bended backwards to avoid his gun which was lunging at her head. Her foot kicked his gun out of his hand as she swiftly twirled into a back hand spring, landing effortlessly on her feet.

She smiled, despite herself as she caught Jake's gun in mid-air. "Well. _That's_ an awful case of deja-vu."

He grunted, "I don't need a gun to kill you. I can just use my bare hands!" After he spoke, he lunged forward, swinging his fist at her, but she blocked his blows, catching his hand and flipping him over as he landed hard on his back.

"Your efforts are futile, Jake Muller." The woman told him as her foot landed on his chest. Her eyes darted in the direction of the bomb. "We don't have time for this." Her voice sounded more urgent this time.

Jake, blinded by his rage from being beaten by a woman such as her, swung his legs as he tripped the elder woman, but she landed graciously in the crouching position. "I'll make you pay for what you did! Not to just me and Sherry, but to all the innocent people who were killed by _your_ hands!"

Her eyes narrowed as her hand went up to press a button, the button that would open the emergency exit, "Stubborn boy." She said in a sort of complimentary tone as Jake began to stumble from the strong gusts of wind that blew inside the plane. The woman then began to walk towards the mercenary as she reached to grab something from a shelf. He could tell it was hard, even for her, to stand with such strong winds.

"You'll thank me later." She said as her leg went up, kicking Jake in the chest, sending his body flying right out of the plane.


	2. Warning

**Author's Note:** _Well, this is my first time writing a fan-fiction, and this idea was sort of created by my sister and I, since her and I both loved Resident Evil 6 so much. In this story, it's mainly going to focus on Jake Muller, but in this chapter in particular, it's going to focus more on Leon and Sherry. Thank you for reading, and please make sure to leave reviews! I will try to update chapters weekly, if I'm not too busy. _

Chapter 2

Warning

_Two hours ago_

It had been a long time since the agent paid a visit to the blonde who he had first met in Raccoon City. Despite the two working in the same place, it wasn't very often he actually got to see her. Seeing her when Neo-Umbrella unleashed the C-Virus and realizing she wasn't the same little girl he met back then really made him think about how much she had grown up. Sherry wasn't any normal woman, Leon knew that. She had been injected with the G-Virus when she was very young, and now since the virus adapted to her body, it has made her immune to diseases and allowed her body to heal at inhuman speeds.

Leon knew that she was grown up now and she didn't need his protection anymore, he still felt like she still needed protecting. Although she may be sick of being protected from anyone, seeing how she had been locked up her whole life due to her condition. It was still hard to accept for him.

Seeing her in China one year ago only proved that to be true, despite her being captured twice by Neo-Umbrella.

His eyes gazed off, as if remembering a distant memory. Leon hadn't heard from Ada since she saved him from Simmons, generously lending him her helicopter so he and Helena could make their escape.

She was always good at leaving Leon in the dark when it came to certain matters, but at this point, Leon wasn't even sure if Ada was human. That tape in Simmons' lab only rose his suspicions about her, but he still cared about her all the same.

The agent found himself standing on Sherry's front porch, just listening to the crickets as they began to make noises as the sun began to go down. Maybe it wasn't necessary for him to be here on a time like this, but he needed to talk to Sherry. He had avoided getting too into detail about the events in China one year ago, but Leon needed to know if Sherry knew anything about Ada. If she had ever made an encounter with her.

He raised his hand to knock on her door, but the handle turned as the wooden door swung from its frame, the small blonde rushing out only to be stopped in her tracks as Leon stood in her path.

Sherry seemed flustered, "—Leon!" She exclaimed as her crystal blue optics met his, "W-What are you doing here?"

Leon raised a brow, "What's got you in such a hurry, Sherry?"

The blonde frowned, shifting her weight as her frame relaxed a little. "You know I hate it when you answer my question with a question of your own, Leon." Her short hair swayed as a light breeze blew in the country air. Her house wasn't quite isolated, but her closest neighbor was at least a five minute drive down the road. Leon wasn't surprised that Sherry wanted to be away from the city, since she had spent so much of her time there to begin with.

Leon found himself pausing for a moment before answering her, shaking his head slightly as he came back to reality, "I need to talk to you. You got a minute?"

She blinked, stepping to the side and offering for Leon to come inside, "Yeah, sure." Her voice sounded concerned, and Sherry couldn't hide it in her expression. Her eyebrows pressed together at her fellow agent as he stepped inside, turning towards the younger agent.

"You gonna answer my question now?" He inferred as his face discerning.

Sherry shook her head at his question, bringing her hand to the back of her neck, grasping the area as her arm hung down her chest. "I thought maybe I could make it to the post office to buy some stamps before it closed."

"Stamps?" Leon repeated. He thought for a moment, her statement registering in his mind. That's right. Sherry had been writing back and forth to Jake since their departure one year ago. The agent shook his head again, realizing that he was getting off track of why he was actually there. He sighed, "Sherry, I need to ask you something."

Her blue eyes stared at him as she slowly tilted her head to the side, "Okay. What is it, Leon?"

Leon hesitated for a moment, thinking on how he could possibly ask Sherry without arising too many questions from her. Ada Wong was a ghost. A shadow. A sly cat. She could slip away from anything undetected, right under the noses of anyone. She knew everything that went on, and nothing slipped past her. Jake Muller was the target one year ago, and somehow, for some reason, Ada was involved in trying to capture him to enhance the C-Virus, which only left Leon wondering why she would ever do such a thing. Yet she helped him when he needed her, leaving him more confused than ever.

The male shifted his weight, before stepping forward, his hand going up in a questioning gesture, "Do you—"

His phone began to ring.

Damn. After all that time wondering how he could ask Sherry, and he was interrupted by a phone call. He cleared his throat, "Excuse me." Leon took the cell phone out of his pocket, checking who it was from. The caller ID read as 'Unknown.'

He raised a brow before answering it, "Agent Kennedy." Leon stated professionally.

"Leon," An all-too-familiar voice said on the other end, "There's an airplane that will be crash landing in exactly one hour and 49 minutes. People need to be evacuated out of there. Expect a plane full of people to be rescued soon after the crash."

His heart sank at the sound of her voice, "—Ada?!" He exclaimed, seeming to not exactly hear what she just said. Leon was more surprised that she was calling him at a time like this, after not speaking to him for a year. After all, he should be used to it by now. Ada just disappeared and showed up into his life whenever she felt like it. At the mention of her name, Sherry took a half-step forward.

"I would hurry if I were you," Ada's voice advised Leon, "Catch you later, Leon."

His body immediately went into panic mode as he tried to keep Ada from hanging up, "Ada, wait!"

No response.

"Shit." He cursed as he lowered his phone, holding it by his waist and staring at the ground. Leon's eyes looked up to meet Sherry's utterly confused ones. "We have to go." He said as he made his way towards the door.

Sherry turned around, following Leon as he rushed off of her porch, "Go?" She repeated, her voice reaching a high pitch as she retorted. When he didn't answer her, the blonde pursued him as he stopped to get inside his car, "Leon, what the _hell_ is going on?" Again, no answer from him. He seemed to be in a trance, acting almost robotic. She stepped in his path, staring up at his face. "Answer me!"

Why was Ada contacting him now, just to inform him about a plane crash landing? It had to mean something. There had to of been something that linked him to that plane. But what could it be? He shook his head again as Sherry stared hard at him from her short height. "I'll explain on the way there. Just know that we need to hurry and we're wasting time standing here and talking about it when people's lives are at stake."

The look in Sherry's eyes turned from anger, to sheer terror. Was there going to be another outbreak? The last thing she wanted was to have to deal with something like that again after only being freed from it for a year. She wanted to be away from the terror, from all the death and bloodshed.

A shuttering breath escaped the younger agent as she slowly nodded her head. "Okay." She agreed, rushing to the passenger side of Leon's car as they both sped off to town, racing against the clock before the plane crashed.

Like Leon promised Sherry, he informed her about the anticipated plane crash and Ada's mysterious phone call. His eyes locked on the road as he violently landed on his breaks as they arrived to the outside of town. "We just need to evacuate as many people as possible, since we don't know exactly where this thing is gonna land." Leon told Sherry as they both got out of the car.

"I don't understand," Sherry stated as she stared into town, "If Ada was the one who caused the outbreak last time, why would she try and prevent deaths this time? It all doesn't make any sense." She found herself shaking her head as she spoke. "We need to contact National Security and get as much back up as possible." And with that, Agent Birkin pulled out her phone as she made the necessary calls to get them assistance.

While she did that, Leon rushed into the town, yelling to anyone who would listen. "Attention, everyone! I am from National Security and I need everyone to evacuate town immediately!" He checked his watch. Since Ada's phone call, forty minutes had passed. About an hour now and the plane would be here. He didn't have much time.

"Leon!" Sherry called from behind him.

The agent turned around, spotting the blonde as she approached him. "Sherry! Did you get help?"

She nodded, "Yes. A couple of agents are on their way along with the B.S.A.A."

Leon's face twisted into a confused expression, "The B.S.A.A.?"

"I contacted them, since Ada is involved in this and she was the one who caused the bioterrorist attack a year and a half ago. They feared that this plane could potentially be linked to another attack." Sherry told Leon, her eyes glancing past his shoulder, avoiding eye contact, "I'm sorry, but I had to be cautious. Chances are, Ada is on that plane right now, and the B.S.A.A want to be here to apprehend her when they get here."

The male turned away, "You did the right thing, Sherry. The last thing we want is another bioterrorist attack." But is that really what he wanted? He didn't want to see Ada arrested. Knowing her, she would be long gone by the time that plane came around here, so he was going to keep that to himself. "Let's get these people the hell out of here."

_Five minutes remaining_

Sherry stopped in her tracks, doubled over as she attempted to catch her breath. "I think that's the majority of everyone." She panted, her blue optics glancing to the side as she saw a whole lot of B.S.A.A. vehicles pull up, many soldiers piling out like wild fire. Leon, who stood next to her, stepped towards the soldiers, Chris Redfield leading them.

"Sherry. Leon." Chris nodded to the National Security agents, "Fancy seeing you two here."

"It's good to see you, too, Chris." Sherry spoke up, "Although these circumstances aren't favorable."

"I can't agree more." His receiver began speaking.

"Captain, we are recovering the survivors of the plane now. What do you suggest we do now?" It was a woman's voice.

His hand went up to his ear as he spoke back, "Copy that, Valentine. Take them to a safe location and wait for my orders. Over." After he brought his hand back to his gun which he held in front of him, he smiled half-heartedly. "What do you say, after this is all over, we all catch a drink and catch up?"

Leon chuckled darkly, "I could use a drink."

A loud noise caused all of them to draw their attention to the skies as a bright orange light lit up the darkened town. Leon shielded his face from the blinding light as he slowly began to step backwards.

"Everybody run!" He yelled.

Before anyone knew it, chunks of the plane were plummeting into the earth, shooting dirt into the air. Everyone was running away from the crash site before the whole thing came crashing down, but they didn't make it far enough in time. Leon's first instinct was to protect Sherry.

"—Sherry!" Leon exclaimed as he tackled her to the ground, shielding her from any debris that may fly in their direction from the collision. Funny. One year ago, protecting Sherry was Jake's job. He couldn't help but feel like Jake was missing out. The male straightened his arms as he got off of the blonde, "You okay?" He asked her as he stood up, offering her his hand.

She sat up, the heat from the fire already bringing a sweat upon her delicate skin, now dirtied by the dirt from the ground. "Yeah, I'm fine." Sherry responded as she took his hand. "What about everyone else?"

"We're okay." She heard Chris respond past the sounds of the flames and crashing debris. "Let's get a fire hose out here already!" He commanded as he turned back to his team, "Be on your guard for any B.O.W. activity and be on the lookout for Ada Wong. I want her alive."

_Ada…_ Leon thought as he turned towards the flames, watching as the plane burned. _What the hell is going on?_

All of this wasn't making any sense. The phone call. The plane crash. Ada's mere involvement was causing Leon to develop quite the headache as he tried to think about how this could all be linked together. Something was going on, and Leon was going to find out what it was.

Once the fire was put out, the agent stepped into the debris, searching for anything that could give him any clues. "As far as we know, Ada was on this plane for a reason. What we need to find out is whether or not she was the one who blew up this plane, or if she was trying to prevent it."

_Why, Ada? I need answers._

He frowned as he thought, kicking over scraps of metal.

_You're the one pulling the strings here_.

As he was asking questions to Ada from the confines of his own mind, something caught his eye. A bag. The only one he had seen on this plane since he was searching the remains. It was mostly burned up from the crash, but he could see some of the things that were inside. Mostly pieces of paper. Leon knelt down and picked up one of the burned, scrap pieces and held it up so he could read it. Various words were legible to him.

_Sherry… Mercenary… Edonia…_

Leon's eyes widened as it all triggered in his brain. "Sherry," He cautioned, a warning tone in his voice, "I think you need to see this."

Sherry, who was getting off of her phone with the advisor of National Security, came rushing up to him, "What is it?" She asked, resting her hands on her knees as she knelt down to see what Leon had in his hand.

"Read it."

She followed Leon's instructions and took the scrap piece of paper from his hand, trying to read the contents. Her eyes slowly widened as the puzzle pieces began to connect. "Jake…" Sherry mused, her voice shuttering.

"—He was on this plane!"


	3. Luck

**Author's Note:** _This chapter is a little shorter than my other chapters, but I think it will suffice for a little longer. I need a bit more time to write the next one. I hope you guys enjoy! _

Chapter 3

Luck

Jake hated feeling vulnerable. And falling from an airplane without a parachute made him feel completely helpless. The feeling in the pit of his stomach, like his intestines were doing flips, it was not a pleasant feeling.

As he fell, his eyes spotted the sly cat jumping from the airplane after him with something in her hand. Not three seconds after she jumped, the airplane blew up, lighting up the night with bright orange. Pieces of metal flew in all directions, causing the mercenary to throw his arms up over his face to perhaps protect himself, even if he seemed doomed to die in the first place.

"Ah, shit!" He cursed loudly, not even able to hear himself over the deafening sound of the wind in his ears. His cold blue eyes darted back up after he removed his arms from in front of him, focusing on the woman's figure silhouetted in front of the bursting flames. She caught up with him in seconds reaching to grab him. Jake swatted her hands away, ready to grab her and hit her, but her two fingers jabbed into his arm, hitting a pressure point as his arm felt like it had lost all feeling for a couple of moments.

Her mouth moved as Jake yelped in pain, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. The woman's arms wrapped around him firmly as he was suddenly jerked down, a parachute opening. This reminded him too much of his last episode with a parachute, and it was much like this one. Falling from an exploding air craft, for the parachute to be sliced by a large piece of metal, sending them spiraling down to the Earth. He anticipated for the same thing to happen now, since luck was clearly not on his side.

However, the metal scrap never came, the two of them just gently floated, the ground approaching them at a much slower pace.

His eyes darted to the woman, a scowl on his face. Jake would speak to her, but this… closeness was uncomfortable, so he kept his mouth shut, averting his eyes as his feet finally touched the ground, and when they did, he immediately disconnected from her. It had appeared that they landed somewhere in the country, near a patch of woods.

"Don't expect me to thank you." He told her, holding up his hand, gesturing towards the stranger.

The woman glanced in his direction as the parachute slowly fell to the ground, taking off the straps and letting gravity do its work. "I didn't expect you to." She said, her velvety voice showing a hint of humor. She stood up straight after unstrapping everything and crossed her arms casually, "I'm sure you'd like to hear more about what has happened tonight, but I've gotta run." Her back was turned to him in the next second. A red car was visible near the woods that Jake didn't seem to see before as the woman began to walk towards it.

He stepped forward in protest, "Hold on a second, lady." Jake called, watching her as she paused to turn towards him, "You never answered any of my questions."

She smiled, "My name's Ada. Ada Wong." Ada said as she began walking backwards with a slight hop to her step, "That's all you need to know." She said as she tossed Jake his gun, turning around with her back towards him. She raised her hand as she opened the red convertible's driver's side door. "And when you see Leon, tell him I said hello. Catch you later, Jake."

Jake's signature scowl became more profound once Ada stepped on the gas, speeding off into the distance until she disappeared. "Ada Wong, huh? And she knows Leon." He said as he examined his Magnum for a moment before putting it away. Frankly, it was strange that the woman automatically assumed that he was going to run into Leon. Just what did she have up her sleeve? And what was she planning? Something well out of his reach, Jake supposed. Well… now, that is. He turned around and gazed off where the blazes were, coming from the plane that blew up in mid-air and crashed into a small town in the distance.

The mercenary cocked his head to the side as he took his first step, a growing annoyance spreading inside him, "Well," He grumbled, "Guess I'll just start walkin', then."

No matter how much he hated to, that town was Jake's best bet at finding out where the hell he was, even if he had to walk twenty minutes to get there. His cold blue eyes narrowed, thinking about how he had left his bag on the plane, and it was probably burning to smithereens right about now. He cursed himself again and again in his head, knowing what was inside, shaking his head side to side as he walked.

This 'Ada Wong' woman was a mystery to him, though, and he couldn't quite wrap his head around why she wanted to save him, when she captured him and Sherry a year and a half ago. It all just didn't make sense. What he wanted to do most was kill her right then and there, but why didn't he? He had the perfect opportunity to, and yet Jake still didn't pull the trigger.

Once Jake approached the scene of the crash, he began noticing all the B.S.A.A. vehicles around, and all the people who surrounded. "Looks like those B.S.A.A. jarheads are here, too." Jake said aloud, "Just great." He heard voices, and his name was among one of them. A voice he could never forget.

"There must be a mistake, Jake was on that plane! I saw his bag in the wreckage!" The female voice exclaimed, "How could he not be among the surviving civilians who escaped?"

Furrowing his brow, the mercenary's gaze turned in the direction of the voice. His chest and forehead were now perspiring sweat from the intense summer heat, especially from walking the distance he did. His eyes scanned the area, darting from place to place to spot the blonde agent he had known from a year and a half ago. Then, from the crowd of B.S.A.A. agents, Jake spotted her. A flash of light blonde hair, even in the night air.

_Sherry._

"Hey, supergirl," He called as he jogged towards the crowd of people. Sherry, who stood next to Leon, spun around immediately at the mention of her old nickname that Jake had given her. Funny. Turns out that Ada lady was right about Leon, after all.

_Just luck_, he thought.

The look she gave him nearly undid him. Eyes glistening with tears, mouth agape, cheeks flushed red. Some B.S.A.A. agents pointed their guns at him, but their captain, Chris Redfield, called for them to hold their fire. Sherry stepped forward, as if not trusting herself in knowing whether she was seeing was real. "Jake..." She mused quietly, her voice mixing with the sounds of the burning embers in the wreckage and the crickets chirping nearby.

He slowed down to a walk, his broad shoulders swaying as his feet carried him a couple of more steps until he was standing about six feet away from the blonde. Her hands, which were at her sides, moved slightly as if she didn't know what exactly to do with them. Sherry's ice blue eyes gazed at him as her lips parted, seemingly speechless.

Jake smirked, his mouth opening to speak. It probably would've been a smart-ass remark about Sherry's muteness, but a ray of electricity zoomed right past him, and Jake spun around, reaching for his gun and pointing it at the source. Chris grunted, seemingly stunned by what just happened. Jake could tell the gears were turning in Chris's head.

The mercenary cocked his head to the side again, his smirk returning as a dark figure became visible to him through the smoke.

"Captain, it's a B.O.W.!" An agent called out in awe. Apparently, the B.S.A.A. hadn't seen much B.O.W. activity lately, since the incident with the C-Virus. Was there a new virus coming around that they didn't know about?

Chris growled under his breath, "This is no ordinary B.O.W." He stated, "I've seen this kind of power before."

What exactly did Chris mean? Jake just shook his head, "Ah, who gives a shit? Let's just waste it already."

After he spoke, the creature lurched forward, sending the electricity spiraling towards them, and then the sounds of endless gunfire rang all around in the midnight air.


	4. Understanding

**Author's Note:** _Finally_, getting to some romance! This chapter is a bit more angsty-er than my other chapters, though. I've been dying to get to this point in my story. Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 4

Understanding

"No, stop!" Chris's voice yelled through the endless sounds of guns going off, echoing throughout the town. Everyone was shooting, excluding himself and Sherry. The figure they were shooting at was thrashing about at the countless bullets penetrating it. "Hold your fire, damn it!"

After his command, the B.S.A.A. agents stopped shooting, and Jake and Leon lowered their weapons. A cloud of smoke surrounded the area, engulfing everyone in the dense gray from the dirt. Jake's eyebrows pulled together as his annoyance towards Chris grew inside him, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He growled at the captain, turning around as his broad figure pursued him, "That thing was trying to kill us!"

Chris stepped forward, as well. "Who do you think you are?" He retorted, "I'm the Captain around here, so step down."

"The hell I will!" The redhead yelled back. At this point, Leon was behind Chris, stepping to his side.

Immediately after that, Jake felt a pair of hands on his chest, but it was hard to see past the dirt. "Jake, stop!"

Jake's eyes adjusted as the dust began to disperse, and Sherry's eyes were staring hard at him.

"Sherry?—" He mused quietly, mostly to himself. This wasn't how Jake had wanted him and Sherry's reunion to be like. Not two minutes since he got here, Sherry was already pissed at him. _Great. Just great._

"Look, I know you two have never gotten along before, but we have bigger things to worry about right now." Her blue eyes turned in the direction of the B.O.W., and its figure stood up, causing everyone to take an immediate step back.

Leon held tighter onto his gun, "What the hell is that thing?" He asked, not really for anyone to answer. The cloud of dust completely dispersed, revealing the figure. It was a mutated man with grotesque arms, shocks of electricity surging through them.

The captain stepped forward, as if to get a closer look. The look on his face shed only disappointment, yet slight relief. "It isn't you," He mused quietly. The only person to hear was Jake, who now stood next to him. Just when he was about to open his mouth to speak, another shot of electricity surged towards them. Chris grabbed Sherry, diving off to the side while Jake and Leon dove to the other side. Jake shot Chris a look as he observed his hand on Sherry's waist, helping her to her feet.

He frowned, mentally shooting Chris in the head.

The agent standing next to him landed a hand on his shoulder after noticing the glare Jake was giving Chris, his eyes piercing like daggers. "Come on." He urged, "Let's kill this son of a bitch."

Jake nodded, "I like where your head's at, hero." And with that, his hand grasped the handle of his Magnum as Leon and himself ran towards the B.O.W., with Jake unloading on it. Its body jerked around when his bullets hit him, but he still stood there. He growled, sprinting faster as he ditched his weapon, readying his fists. "Don't worry, I like fighting with my fists better." His voice was low, and his mouth spread into a smirk as he threw his first punch, landing hard against its nose. The mercenary felt its cartilage breaking against his knuckles, and soon, its skull caved in as it completely shattered.

The redhead blew air out of his nose in satisfaction, as the B.O.W. fell backwards, crackling into bits of flame and ash. "That's more like it."

Everyone approached Jake as the B.O.W. died, his breathing heavy from his energy slowly recovering from the powerful punch he dealt. He cracked his knuckles, and then bent his neck as it cracked as well. "No problem."

Leon caught up with the mercenary, staring down at the ash from the B.O.W. that Jake had killed just now, "Shit," He said, not able to believe what he had just seen, "Way to go, kid."

"Yeah, yeah—now tell me why you were so keen on figuring out who that thing was, huh?" Jake said as he motioned towards Chris, "You thought this thing was somebody else, didn't you?" His eyes were hard on Chris, who stopped walking once the mercenary looked at him.

"Captain, should we get moving?" One of the B.S.A.A. agents called from the crowd.

Chris didn't respond, he just stared at Jake, their gazes never breaking. The blonde agent stood there, looking from the mercenary, to the captain, and back to the mercenary, waiting for someone to say something. Chris blinked, "Let's move out." He gestured to his team, turning his gaze back to Jake, his eyes meeting with his, "We're done here."

Sherry blinked, looking at Chris as he left with his team. "I don't get it." She said, her eyes still on Chris's back. Her ice blue eyes turned towards Jake, shifting her weight, "How did you survive the crash?"

He thought for a second, huffing out a short laugh as he remembered that woman on the plane. Maybe this would be the time to get some answers he needed, "You wouldn't happen to know an Ada Wong would you?"

This seemed to of struck a nerve with Leon. Immediately after the mention of her name, Leon stepped forward, and Chris spun around.

"Ada?!" They both said in unison. Leon was in front of Jake now, "You saw Ada?"

He frowned, "I'll take that as a yes." The mercenary's boots crumbled the dirt underneath them as he walked slowly, bringing his feet one after the other. Hard blue eyes stared off as he remembered what had happened not twenty minutes ago. "She told me to say hello when I saw you." Jake told Leon, "She didn't say much of anything else."

Leon looked at the ground, "That sounds like Ada." His eyes shot back up, "Did she say where she was going?"

The mercenary shook his head, raising his hands, palms up. "Nah, I didn't care to know, so I didn't ask."

"How could you let her get away?!" Chris yelled as he pursued Jake with fire in his eyes. The older agent's hand landed hard on his chest.

"Hey!" He cautioned, "This isn't the Ada you're dealing with, Chris. Trust me." Leon's hair hung in his face as his eyes peered through. "You said Ada was killed a year ago, right? Well you were wrong, because Ada came and helped Helena and I kill Derek Simmons. You may think she's a bioterrorist, but I can tell you that you can be no further from the truth." His breath became heavy as his hand was still on Chris's chest, "Chris, please. I can assure you that Ada has no intention on harming anyone."

Chris shook Leon's hand off, "—Fine." He grunted with sweat and dirt dirtying his skin. "But if your little angel slips up and I hear about it, she's mine."

Sherry's expression was worried when Chris turned away again, heading off towards his team.

"You should really talk to him," Leon told her, "He'll listen to you."

Her eyes gazed off towards the B.S.A.A. agents as they all piled into their vehicles, heading out back to headquarters, "I don't think any words are going to get through to him." She said, "It's better if we just let him cool off."

Jake chuckled smugly, "Good idea. Muscle-head over there won't listen to a damn thing anyone says."

_One hour later_

The blue-eyed blonde insisted that the two of them stay at her place for the night, seeing what a rough night it had been. As far as they knew, there was some sort of enhanced virus similar to the last outbreak that was plaguing the humans that weren't vaccinated before. And somehow, these new B.O.W.s had something to do with Chris Redfield. Jake didn't quite know what was going on, and how he had found himself wrapped up in another mess, but he didn't care. All he wanted was a shower, and to get some damn sleep for once.

"This isn't much, but I hope you guys can get comfortable for the night." Sherry spoke once she unlocked her front door and stepped inside. From the front door, there was a living room to the right, a dining room to the left, and a staircase right in front. "There's only one guest bedroom, though." She said apologetically as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Don't worry about it, Sherry." Leon reassured her, "I'll take the couch." It wasn't that he was going to get much sleep tonight, anyway. Now that Ada was involved in all this, and now seeing Jake, it all wasn't making any sense. Not that anything Ada said made any sense to begin with.

A smile graced Sherry's features as she nodded, heading upstairs. "Come on."

Jake blinked, looking around for a moment before looking upstairs, hesitating before a hand guided his back. "Go on." Leon said with a sly smile before heading off to the living room.

Swallowing and shaking his head, the mercenary took a step and went upstairs, following the blonde. What did he have to be shitting himself over? This was just Sherry—his old partner from almost two years ago. Nothing to be worried about.

"Here," Sherry said as she opened a door to the guest room. It was pretty empty, aside from the double-sized bed and the dresser inside. "There are towels in the bathroom at the end of the hall if you need a shower."

Jake frowned again, staring into the room when the female stepped away, heading down the hall. He wanted to stop her. He wanted to know why she wasn't acting completely relieved to see him. Why did it have to be this way? The mercenary's blue eyes hardened once again, until to melt once his head turned to her, "—Sherry." He called. She turned, as if she had desperately wanted him to say something. He cleared his throat, having a change of heart at the last second, "Thanks."

The look on her face was all-too disappointed, but she gave a half-hearted smile as her hand went up to pull blonde hairs behind her ear, "Yeah." And then she stepped into her room, just right next to his. He had never had the pleasure of being so close to her like this, but so far away all at the same time.

His frown returned as his fist slammed the door frame, "Damn it." He cursed himself, heading towards the bathroom.

_Ten minutes later_

The mercenary's thoughts were all thrown out when he stepped into that shower, the water cascading down his body and down his face, washing away the shit of the day that dirtied him. His hand rested against the shower wall as he felt the water drip from the end of his nose, his eyes staring into a day dream.

Lazily, he turned off the water and stepped out, dressing himself. Jake approached the mirror, bringing his hand to wipe away the condensation, only to see a menacing face staring back at him. He stared into the man's stone cold eyes, observing his features, especially the elongated scar on his left cheek. His fingertips brushed the skin there, his eyebrows pulling together at the sight.

_She would never understand_, he thought to himself, blinking at the reflection in the mirror. _All she sees is a lowly mercenary. Maybe a big hunk of a B.S.A.A. agent is what she needs._

His frown deepened at the thought, turning away from the reflection in shame. Shirtless, he made his way down the hall, heading to his room only to stop dead in front of Sherry's door. Jake hesitated again, raising his hand slightly as if to negotiate with himself on whether or not to go inside. He was having his own, personal battle with himself, all over a woman who probably didn't give a shit about him.

No one cared about mercenaries like him. That's just how it was.

Jake felt a lump in his throat that he just couldn't swallow, but he ignored it and brought his hand to the door, knocking silently three times.

"Come in." Her voice said from the other side.

The mercenary reached for the door handle, twisting it until the wooden door opened. His frame stood there as he folded his arms. Sherry was on her bed, wearing a t-shirt and shorts while reading a book. Her eyes looked up, spotting the redhead at the door. "—Jake." She said, seemingly surprised to see him there, "Is there something wrong?"

He shook his head, "Nah." Jake made his way to her bed, sitting down at the end and resting his arms on his knees. After what seemed like hours of silence, he spoke up. "I never told you why I became a mercenary." He told her, staring at the ground. "My mom, she uh, wasn't always a woman of good health. She was always gettin' sick and never had the money for a doctor to help her, let alone enough money to take care of me. So, in order to make ends meet, I became a solider for hire, all to take care of my mother. One day, though, my efforts weren't enough. I came home one day to see her laying there, stone cold. Dead."

Sherry moved from behind him, but he kept speaking. "She left me a note on the bedside table-Her last will and testament, if you will. She told me not to hate my father, and that it wasn't my fault that he left." Jake shook his head, as if saying no to his mother like he was speaking to her, "But I can't stop myself from hating him. It was because of him that my mom is dead, and I can never forgive him for that."

"Jake…" She mused quietly, her voice so soft that he had to strain his ears to hear her. He had never told her this before, and he hadn't seen her in a year, so why was he telling her this now? What were his intentions?

He gave a scrutinizing scoff, "Don't try and tell me you understand."

Jake felt her next to him, but he didn't bother to look up, "I do, Jake." She remembered what she had told him in the cabin during the snow storm almost two years ago, and Sherry had hoped he hadn't of forgotten. Her hand touched the bare skin of his arm, his skin still wet from the shower.

He turned his head at her touch, his eyes finally meeting with hers, something he hated himself doing. Her eyes always found a way to undo him, tugging at his heart.

She offered a sympathetic smile, "She's right, you know." Sherry said a moment after holding gazes with him, "About it not being your fault. "

Jake looked away, but she scooted closer.

"You did all you could to help your mother, and it wasn't your fault that Albert left. Albert Wesker was an evil man, Jake, and you're nothing like him." Her voice penetrated his thoughts while he stared at the ground with his eyebrows pushed together. Jake shook his head again.

"I know." He said as he blinked, the hole in his chest feeling somewhat better. "Thanks, supergirl." He said with humor in his tone with a slight smirk, "It's good to see you, by the way."


	5. Touch

**Author's Note: **This chapter is particularly shorter than the others, but I think this will suffice for the thirsty readers out there who love some Shake. Enjoy!

Chapter 5

Touch

Jake's chest felt heavy, like there were piles of bricks being laid upon it. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. From the looks of it, it appears to be the jungles of South America. He was on his knees, not even able to use his legs.

"The hell is goin' on here?" He grumbled, mostly to himself, trying to move himself. It was useless. The mercenary spotted his team lying around him, motionless. Dead. There was blood everywhere.

At his words, a figure stood from the leaves, revealing himself to Jake.

He pushed his eyebrows together, trying hard to look away, but he couldn't, "You _bastard_—" Jake uttered out, feeling his chest get heavier and heavier within the seconds as everything seemed to be falling into place. "_You sold out our entire team_!" The redhead choked at the last word, nearly doubling over from the pain. What was this? This feeling in his chest—it was almost unbearable. The pain of utter betrayal. From the corner of his eye, Jake spotted the shiny silver of a blade held in the figure's hand.

_How could you?_

At this point, Jake couldn't even tell if he had thought the question, or if he had said it aloud. Almost in response, though, the figure lashed forward, ready to kill, but with a quick thrash of his head, the figure missed his target, but his face suffered the blow.

Rage built up inside him as the pain spread across his face from the deep cut on his cheek, and fear surged through him. Dying from a knife—what a simple, yet unfitting way for a mercenary such as him to die.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to get someone's attention, so maybe he could be saved. No. There was no saving a lowly mercenary. No one cared about him. "No!" Jake managed to gasp out, and with that, his eyes finally opened as he sat up, his face and chest covered in sweat.

Where was he? He was in an unfamiliar room. Just when he was about to react, he suddenly remembered what had happened tonight. Jake was at Sherry's house. He was safe.

The mercenary brought a hand to his face, feeling the scar that plagued his skin forever. From his cheek, his fingers went up to his brow, squeezing the space there as he brought up his knee, resting his elbow upon it, staring at the wall in front of him. His cold blue eyes hardened as flashes of his nightmare reoccurred to him, repeating over and over in his head. That feeling in his chest was gone, for now, which was a relief.

Footsteps were heard just outside his door, but he almost didn't hear them until the door swung open, "—Jake! I heard you scream."

At the sound of Sherry's voice, Jake's eyes wandered to her form which was already making its way into his room. Her eyes were drowning in concern as her hand went up to touch his arm, "Jake, you're covered in sweat—"

Still in nightmare mode, the mercenary scowled, slapping her hand away in an instant. Sherry jerked back, astonished by Jake's sudden violent behavior. His eyes found hers again, and his hard hues instantly softened, realizing what he had just done. "Sherry, I…" He whispered, trying to find the right words to say as she slowly sunk away from him, "I'm sorry."

Sherry looked away, holding the slapped hand in her other at her chest as she knelt on her knees, falling onto her feet. Jake tried looking at her, but she hid her face from him. From the light of the moon peeking through the window, the mercenary caught a look at her, and tears glistened in her eyes.

His heart sank into his stomach.

Almost automatically, Jake reached for her face, hesitating before placing it back next to him on the bed. "You don't understand the kind of man I am," he told her, his voice low, "The things that have happened in my past, the thing that I've done, you could never comprehend any of it."

She frowned, lifting herself up onto her knees again as her hand went up to touch the left side of his face. Jake winced, almost jerking himself away at her touch, but he locked eyes with her, unmoving. Her hand was soft and warm against his skin, gracing his features with the cushions of her fingertips.

He searched for something—anything, that could tell him what she was thinking. Jake came up empty-handed. Anything was possible right now, but what he wanted most was to kiss her. Sherry was an attractive woman—Jake knew that—but never did he ever want to force his lips upon hers more than right now. She was out in the open, completely vulnerable to him. He had found himself alone with her like this for the second time in under 12 hours, and he had yet to make any sort of move. None whatsoever. But he couldn't help but feel like it wasn't what she wanted, that he wasn't enough for her. Jake mentally shook his head, wanting to slap himself for even thinking such thoughts.

_Sherry Birkin_, Jake thought, mentally scoffing at himself, _What were you thinking?_

His chest lifted as he drew a breath, exhaling through his nose as he waited for her to say something.

"Don't say that." She murmured softly. Jake tried looking away. He needed to fight his urges, avoiding her gaze, but she was persistent. "I know you don't mean it."

She was right. After only knowing him for this amount of time, she has understood him through and through, but he could never tell her that. Not in a million years. That's just wasn't who he was. After all, Sherry knew that, didn't she?

There was no hiding it.

"Sherry—" He said, but was caught off by something outside, triggering his brain into survival mode as he lowered his voice even further into a harsh whisper, "Get down!" With that, he grabbed her and climbed on top of her. Deja-vu. Although he wanted to be on top of her in a_ slightly_ other way.

Her breaths were shaky from under him as she opened her mouth to speak, "What is it?" She whispered, her icy blue hues searching for an answer in his face.

Jake scowled, "We're surrounded."


	6. Clue

**Author's Note: **This chapter was pretty one-shot and I'm sorry if the quality isn't as good as my others. I've been really sick and I just got to writing this, so I'm sorry if this sucks orz

Chapter 6

Clue

The mercenary got up, motioning for Sherry to stay put while he made his way to the window, positioning himself with his back against the wall next to it. Cautiously, his hand went up to peek through the blinds where he spotted B.S.A.A. agents surrounding the house. Almost immediately, Jake's expression swept with annoyance.

His eyebrows pulled together, "What the hell are these B.S.A.A. jarheads doing out here?" He grumbled, hearing Sherry stand up from behind him, "These guys don't know when to give it a rest, do they?"

The blonde approached the window, too, looking outside beside Jake. "We have to find out what they're here for." She turned her head toward him, "Come on, Jake."

He held gazes with her for a moment, knowing that there was so much more he wanted to say, but right now, this wasn't the time.

_God damn B.S.A.A. Always gettin' in the middle of everything._

Jake nodded as he grabbed his shirt and placed it over his head, pulling his arms through as him and the female agent made their way down the stairs where Leon was. He was already outside talking to Chris. They seemed to be arguing. Somewhere in the yelling, Jake heard the name 'Ada' in the mix of it, which made him quicken his step. Sherry spoke up before they reached them.

"Chris, what is going on here?" She demanded to know, stopping next to Leon to face the captain.

His eyes found her form after he had been staring at Leon, but he took too long to answer, which made Jake shake his head, "She asked you a question." The mercenary told Chris as he stepped forward, attempting to intimidate.

"I know." Chris snapped. His face softened as he turned back to Sherry, "We have reason to believe that Ada Wong is in the premises. She was heading this way when we spotted her."

Sherry's expression was confused, turning her head as if to get confirmation from Leon. He shook his head and his eyes darted to Chris, "Yeah, and if she _is_ around, it's not because she wants to hurt anyone." Leon's eyes narrowed, "You need to let this go, Chris."

"I agree." A velvety voice stuck out from the yelling, which made everyone turn in the direction in which it was coming from. From the shadows, the sly cat stepped into the moonlight, her heels muted by the grass. She swayed her hips slowly as her eyes moved from person to person, finding Jake in the mix.

Leon took a half-step forward. "Ada…"

Chris and his team all pointed their guns at her, and Leon's hand was on Chris's chest. "Tell them to lower their weapons." He demanded. The captain didn't comply, he just gripped his gun tighter, "I said tell them to lower their weapons, damn it!"

The spy stood there as her hands slowly made their way to her hips as she shifted her weight, a slight smile appearing on her glossy lips.

Hesitantly, Chris lowered his weapon. "Everyone stand down." He said in defeat. Once the guns were all put away, Leon finally pushed his way through the soldiers.

"Ada, would you like to tell me what the _hell_ is going on here?"

"It's complica—"

"No." Leon interrupted, his eyebrows pulling together as his hand gestured to her. Whenever he asked her a question, she was always so vague, or never gave him an answer at all. She was this way since the moment he met her. Now, he wasn't going to take it anymore. "No more bullshit. Explain."

Ada raised her eyebrows slightly to Leon's command for her to tell him what was going on. It was a first. She held her elbows as she took her hands off her hips. "There's an advanced form of the C-Virus that swept across the world a year and a half ago." She said, looking around until she found Jake, "Albert Wesker's son is the only person with antibodies, so I saved him from that plane which had a bomb planted on it to kill him."

The agent shook his head, "No, there's got to be a mistake. We killed Derek Simmons. How could there still be people that want Jake dead?"

Jake let out a scoff, "Great."

"We're up against a person with greater power than Simmons, and they'll stop at nothing to destroy the world." Ada continued, swiftly shifting her weight once again. "That's why I helped you, Jake."

This woman must not like giving out information, because she didn't do a very good job at explaining the situation. Her explanation only left them with more questions. Why was she here? Who was this person that wanted Jake dead? How is there still people getting infected when there was a vaccine created to prevent further infections? Were these people who were infected a year ago and were just now released, or was it something greater? All of this wasn't making any sense, and Jake wasn't going to strain himself to get the answers he needed.

"Alright, so let's kill this son of a bitch and we're golden, right?" Jake spoke up, "Simple as that." Talk was cheap. Actions were better, for Jake anyway. It was bothersome to probe Ada into giving them answers she didn't want to give.

"I don't need any help." She told him, "My mission is to kill this person once and for all, and that's it."

Leon stepped forward, "You've got us involved, Ada, and we're going to do whatever we can to protect Jake." After he spoke, the female agent nodded her head in agreement, her hand reaching for Jake's arm discriminately, which made him turn his head toward her, only to look back at Leon and Ada with a slight smirk on his face as he bobbed his head.

The cat shook her head, "No can do, Leon." She said slyly. "I don't want to risk my mission by letting Jake Muller die." Her black hair swayed as she turned around, her car just a couple of yards away. "Just stay put like a good boy and let me do my job."

The agent furrowed his brow as he pursued her, reaching for her arm, "Ada, stop!"

At his touch, Ada grabbed his arm which held hers as she flipped him over her back, her other hand landing on his chest as he was in mid-air. The B.S.A.A. agents pointed their guns again, waiting for their captain's command to fire.

She stared down at Leon as his back was on the ground, gently taking her hand away after rustling it about for a second or two. Standing up straight she smirked with glossy lips as she made her way back to the car, flashing Jake a look, "See you around."

And with that, the spy got into her car, speeding off into the distance, leaving clouds of dirt in her wake.

Leon got up, "Damn it!" He yelled, cursing himself for letting her slip away once again. As he got up, he felt something in his shirt pocket, reaching to his chest to retrieve it. The blonde stepped forward, staring at the chip he had in his hand now with confusion.

"What is that?" She asked.

The older agent inspected the chip, "Your guess is as good as mine."


	7. Familiar

Chapter 7

Familiar

Leon placed the chip inside his phone not long after Ada sped off, opening the data that was inside, only for a confused expression to spread across his face. The mercenary, noticing this look, stepped to the agent's side to peek over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of what was inside.

What was in Leon's phone was an electronic copy of an invitation to a ball of some sort—a masquerade. The older agent furrowed his brow in thought, "Ada must have wanted me to see this. It must mean something."

Jake cocked his head, "Well, looks like we're going to have to crash a party." He said as he began to crack his knuckles.

"Hold on," Sherry chimed in, "I'm sure Ada doesn't want us barging in there, guns slinging, ready to kill whoever is behind this." She gazed at the men with hard blue eyes, as if strategizing, "What we need to do is approach this with a low profile."

The captain nodded, "She's right. We need to make a plan."

_One week later_

What the plan was exactly, Jake was not sure. All he knew was that they had to dress nice and attend this masquerade and pretend to be normal party-goers while they searched for the person behind these new mutations. Obviously, Ada wanted them to find this information, or she wouldn't have planted that chip in Leon's pocket. A sly move, on her part. The mercenary didn't quite want to participate in this little shin-dig, but whatever got him out of this mess, he would comply, but he didn't have to like it.

The team had printed out invitations from the chip that Ada had given Leon, pin-pointing the location to London, England. Another plane trip that Jake was not anticipating. He had had enough with planes for one lifetime, but it seemed that that was his only choice. Jake shook his head as he sat in his seat, leaning back as he exhaled deeply. Their flight was a private jet, something well suited for Jake's tastes. Better than any other public plane, anyway.

He sat there with his eyes closed for a moment before he heard rustling from in front of him. The mercenary peeked his eyes open, spotting the blue-eyed blonde putting her bag away. A chance alone with her again. Jake wondered how he would handle this one. Their last time together was left off on a cliffhanger, not really settled or talked about since then. As a matter of fact, Jake hadn't really spoken to her since then. Not directly, anyway.

After she finished placing her bag in its place, she stood there, staring off toward the window as she watched the clouds pass by as they flew, worry drowning in her eyes. Jake could see even from the angle in which he was sitting.

"We've got ourselves dragged into another one of these messes." She said suddenly, her voice low, "It's funny how these things always find their way of finding people like us." Sherry turned to him, her hands playing with the sleeves of her blue denim jacket that were rolled up. Jake leaned forward, his hand and opposite elbow both rested on his knees as he shook his head.

"You worry yourself too much." Jake told her, "Nothing we can't handle, right?" At his last statement, his eyes looked up to hers as he smirked, but she wasn't returning any sort of smile.

For a moment, Jake thought she might've smacked him. But he was relieved when she closed her eyes, shaking her head as a slight smile appeared on her glossy lips. "I guess so."

After she spoke, Jake smiled halfheartedly. It wasn't normal for him to comfort other people. It just wasn't his style. But something about that sad look in Sherry's eyes made him want to console her, and tell her everything was going to be alright.

He couldn't stop thinking about the events of what happened one week ago. About her soft touch upon his face, and her eyes staring into his own. It was a memory he couldn't shake. Jake felt like there was something else that could have been done. Something else he could have said.

"Chris and his team are heading for the location of the target. We'll meet him there." Leon told Jake and Sherry as he came in from the curtained door. He held a piece of paper in his hand. Battle plans. Great. Something Jake hated doing. It was always so much easier to just go fucking kill anything that stood in his way. The older agent laid the paper down on the table, drawing out the layout of the ballroom. "We'll enter the premises here," Leon pointed his finger down to the paper, "And we'll make our way inside and pose as party-goers. Chris and his team will be hidden off ready to apprehend the suspect. We'll only use arms if necessary." He turned his head to Sherry, and she nodded. "Let's go crash this party."

_A few hours later_

It was official. Jake hated every second of this damn mission. He hated dressing up. He hated trying to be discrete when he could just be unloading on someone instead of following some lame plan. The mercenary let out a scrutinizing scoff, "What the hell are we doing wearing this shit, anyway?" He complained, turning to Leon who was fixing his tie in the mirror next to him, "Why doesn't that BSAA jarhead have to dress up for this?"

Leon, finishing knotting his tie, turned to the younger male with a low chuckle. A slight knock was heard on the door, catching the males' attention. The agent made his way to his, opening the door to see the blonde female standing there. She was wearing a strapless white gown, fitting to her fragile figure. Its skirt was down to the ground, spreading just a foot away from her body. Sherry wore some makeup, too, with a hairpiece tucked into her short blonde hair.

Jake swallowed. Leon nudged him.

After his nudge, the mercenary quickly cleared his throat, "Nice dress, super girl." He commented casually. She gave a disapproving glance as she stepped forward, her heels clicking on the floor as she stood directly in front of him, reaching up to his neck.

"Thanks," She answered, her eyes looking at her hands as she touched Jake's tie, which was crooked. "You guys stay sharp,"

Jake huffed out a laugh, shaking his arms and rolling his shoulders as he adjusted his sleeves to tuck down to his wrists at the proper length. "You kiddin' me? Sharp is my middle name." His stone cold blue eyes looked down at her, who didn't look amused

"Come on." She insisted, turning away as she left the room, "We're going to be late."

_Some time later_

The Savoy Ball was a very busy place, and it wasn't very hard to get inside, especially with their invitations so kindly given to them by Ada. The three of them wore their masquerade masks, Sherry's white with beads upon it, and Leon's and Jake's were black, matching their tuxes. The agent stood in between the two of them, gazing out to the crowd of dancing people, listening to the music that filled the halls. "I'm going to find Ada, you two keep an eye out for anyone suspicious."

With his orders, Sherry began walking into the crowd of people, Jake following closely behind her. He leaned in close to her ear, "What do we do now?" He asked her, the tune of the music suddenly changing into a much slower tune.

She looked around, her blue eyes seen past the holes in her mask. Taking too long to answer, Jake grabbed her waist, pulling her chest in close to his. Sherry was quick to protest.

"—Jake?" She whispered harshly, turning her head away as his hand took hers, "I didn't know you danced."

The redhead smirked with satisfaction, "Don't judge a book by its cover, super girl." He told her, moving his feet in tune with the song. Jake pulled her closer, his eyes looking around to spot anyone suspicious.

Meanwhile, Chris Redfield and his team were up in the balconies, snipers ready, looking out into the crowd for any BOWs or for their faceless suspect. The older male gazed into his scope, looking around when he spotted Leon. Chris nodded to himself as himself as he continued to look around until he found the pair dancing in the crowd. He couldn't help but smile, despite himself.

"Kids." He uttered, looking away from the scope to see them without it with a light chuckle, cocking his head slightly before he brought his eye back to the scope.

Something caught his attention, aside from Jake and Sherry. Someone approached the pair. Someone who stood out in the crowd. A familiar face.

Chris couldn't believe his eyes.

"-Piers?!"

**Author's Note:** I apologize for this chapter, there wasn't much going on in this one but this ending was necessary so I could start the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it and tell me what you think and leave me a review, or just PM me!

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	8. Capture

Chapter 8

Capture

Chris stared at the younger soldier with a bewildered expression, shaking his head and even blinking his eyes a couple of times to see if what he was seeing was truly real or not. Quickly, his fingers went up to his earpiece as he signaled to his men. "Leon? Leon, come in!" He commanded, a sweat beginning to dew on his forehead.

He watched the dance floor below, seeking Leon out. "Leon here. What's the matter?" The captain couldn't see him, so that meant Leon was laying low.

"Something is wrong here. I see Piers Nivans on the floor right now!" He declared, looking back into his scope. Piers was just next to Jake and Sherry now, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a hand gun. Chris's heart started beating faster. This wasn't right. Piers was injected with a powerful dose of the C-Virus one year ago, and he died soon after that after Chris escaped the underwater facility before it eventually exploded, killing Piers in its wake. He had never thought he would see his former partner's face again, besides in his nightmares.

"What?!" Leon's voice exclaimed.

"Captain!" One of the soldiers called from his headset, "I see a concealed weapon. Permission to fire!"

That was it. That was the proof that Chris wasn't hallucinating. His eyebrows pulled together, "I've got this one." He told the soldier, positioning the sniper in its proper position as he prepared to fire. Chris didn't want to kill him, so he aimed for the arm, pulling the trigger and shooting his arm so the gun went flying out of his hand. The gunshot was very loud, ringing all throughout the ball room as the party-goers began to scatter.

Jake and Sherry ducked, "What the hell?!" He yelled, his arm on Sherry's back as she was kneeling down, "What are you shooting at, asshole?!" His attention was brought up to the balcony where Chris was, who looked frantic, waving his arms in their direction. Everyone was screaming and running out of the ballroom, so it was hard to hear and even stand straight.

"Get the hell out of there, Jake!" Chris yelled, motioning from behind the mercenary.

Realization sweeping over him, his cold blue eyes peered to the side, spotting the male doubling over, holding his arm as it began to mutate grotesquely. Blood was all over the floor, and Jake pulled Sherry away as the two of them began to back away. He was being bumped by many people trying to get out of the ballroom, screaming frantically.

Leon, standing just about fifty feet away, was watching the whole scene, helplessly trying to get through the crowd as they all charged in his direction. He pushed past, but the more he struggled, the more he couldn't get through which ripped off his mask in the struggle. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his as it pulled him off to the side, jerking him towards the wall. He cried out, not expecting the force, spotting a flash of velvety red.

He blinked, looking up to see Ada, wearing a slim, red dress with a low cut. She reached for her face mask, pulling it off and shaking her short black hair as her brown eyes gazed into the crowd of people. "Lost your touch, Leon?" She teased, letting go of him.

Leon stood up straight, "You brought us here for a reason. Why?" He asked with watchful eyes, making sure she wouldn't run off again.

The black cat peered to her left, gazing at Leon whose eyes watched her, waiting for an answer. She smiled, despite herself, "You'll see soon enough." Ada told him with a gesture of her head towards Jake and Sherry. He looked off towards the pair who watched in horror as Piers' arm was mutating into its original form.

"Sherry…" Jake cautioned, his hand reaching off to the side, as if to block her from any harm to come her way, "Run."

Her hand grabbed his extended arm, "Are you crazy?" She protested, "You're coming with me!"

"I said go!" Jake shouted, eyes still hard on Piers, who was almost finished mutating. His normal hand reached for his mutating arm, shouting out in pain from the gunshot wound that triggered the mutation. Just then, another crowd of people came rushing their way, crashing into the pair as they stumbled, trying to catch their balance.

In the disarray, Jake looked around, trying to find Sherry, also mindful of the zombified BSAA agent that he had thought to be dead that was somewhere around. "Sherry!" He yelled, "Sherry, where are you?!" He opened his ears, trying to listen to her response past the endless shrieks of the citizens.

"Jake!" He heard Sherry's blood-curling scream, his head jerking in the direction of the sound. The mercenary finally found Sherry's form, who was being practically carried away by the fleeing party-goers. Her mask had been ripped off in the chaos, her blue eyes wide with panic as her hand reached for him.

Wait… Or was she really being carried away?

The image from one year ago of Sherry being carried off by those BOWs, that same face spread over her face as she cried for his help, only he was helpless to save her. No matter how much he tried. At that very moment, something triggered inside of him that completely made him forget about everything he was here to do. What his main focus was now was to save Sherry and get the hell out of there. His feet carried him down the way as he pushed past the last of the rushing crowd. "Sherry!" He called. Jake wasn't going to let her be carried off like that again.

From the distance, Leon and Ada saw what was going on, and they both looked at each other before heading in the same direction Jake was going. At this point, Chris and his team was piling out from the balconies and onto the dance floor.

"Sherry!" Leon shouted, running faster now that there were less people in the same room. Ada was running next to him, trying to reach the blonde before she was carried off. From the corner of Leon's eye, he spotted the mutated Piers, who was swinging his mutated arm at the two of them. Instinctively, he crouched, reaching for Ada as he crashed into her, wrapping his arms around her slender figure as he pushed her out of the way of Piers' blow.

She let out an 'unf' as Leon's figure crashed into hers, nearly knocking the air out of her as the both of them landed hard on the marble ground, sliding a little until they came to a stop. The agent rolled over, looking down at the spy as she lay on her side, facing him. "You okay?" He asked her, landing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Ada held gazes with Leon for a while, staring deep into his green orbs. After a moment, her glossy lips formed into a slight smile as she began to stand up, "Never better," She told him nonchalantly. He, too, stood up next to her.

The mercenary was still chasing after the people who had Sherry. There were still people running, so it was hard for the others to keep an eye on him. He was trying desperately to reach her, but it seemed that no matter how hard he ran, he would never catch her.

Everything seemed like it was in slow motion, his feet slowly moving one after the other as his chest rose and fell, his lungs filling up with air as his mouth exhaled each breath, sweat already dewing on his forehead. As he ran, his hand reached up and yanked off his tie, then his mask.

_I won't let them take you, Sherry_. He thought. _I won't fail you like that again._

After what seemed like minutes of running, the mercenary was grabbed by people disguised as party-goers as well. Just when he was about to fight back, a force hit the back of his head, and blackness was all he knew…

Meanwhile, Leon and Ada were standing before the mutated Piers, whose face was twisted with pain. It was an expression that nearly made the young solider barely recognizable. Chris then appeared, his gun pointing at the BOW, even if it was the last thing he wanted to call Piers.

The pair drew their concealed weapons; Ada's was hid on a holster wrapped around her leg, and Leon's from inside his jacket. They pointed them at Piers, who thrashed around disgustingly, his tuxedo ripped in shreds from the grotesque mutation.

"Piers! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Chris shouted, stepping forward to intimidate, "What's gotten into you? Snap out of it!"

After there was apparently no response, Leon spoke up. "Chris, he's inconsolable! You have to put him down!"

The captain shook his head, "No!" His breath shuttered as he watched his former partner in this state again, "Piers, don't you remember me? It's me, Chris Redfield. Your captain!"

After Chris's words, Piers thrashed around, eyes wide as his normal arm reached for his head. His body doubled over again as he let out a monstrous growl, thrashing out as his back bent backwards. Once he let out his scream, the BOW leaned forward as saliva dripped from his mouth, wild eyes staring at Chris. For a moment, it seemed as if they returned to their normal, brown state.

"—C… Captain…" Piers uttered, his eyebrows pulling together tightly as wrinkles formed in between them.

Leon stepped forward, but Ada grabbed his sleeve.

After his single word, the pale color returned to Piers' eyes as he let out another screech before leaping into the air, crashing a hole into the ceiling as he made his escape. Chris's fellow BSAA agents rushed from below the hole, pointing their guns up and began shooting at the creature as it left only rubble in its wake.

**Author's Note: **Dang! Two chapters in one day. *phew* I feel so accomplished! :) I put more thought into this chapter, and now shit is about to go down! Stay tuned for the next chapter and make sure you guys leave reviews and let me know what you think about the story so far!

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	9. Warmth

Chapter 9

Warmth

Nightmares plagued Jake's thoughts while he slept, nothing unusual to him anyway. The same dream of him helpless on the ground, his team dead, and the same man standing before him with the knife. He would cut his face, and Jake would then again remember the searing pain from the incision. The blood would still drip from his face as he thought why. Why would this have to happen to him? What did he do to deserve such deceit?

His eyes burst open, but he couldn't see anything.

There were cluttered noises everywhere. He struggled, but his hands were bound behind his back. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the dark to where he could see where he was. It was cold and damp. The mercenary was alone in an isolated room, the only light coming from the small crack from underneath the door. Everything seemed foggy, and his head was killing him. He was chasing someone….

That was when it clicked.

"Sherry." He mused quietly to himself in realization, "Hey! Get me the hell outta here!" Jake shouted towards the door as he lay on his side on the hard, cold ground. Desperately, he tried to break loose, but the knots were very tight. He was going to need a sharp object to get out of this.

Out of the dead silence, a small voice was heard. "Jake?"

It was Sherry's voice, coming from the left of him from the opposite side of the wall. They must have her in an opposite holding cell as him.

"Sherry!" Jake exclaimed, never more relieved to hear her voice. He adjusted his arms so he could scoot himself closer to the wall, "Are you okay?" His white dress shirt was unbuttoned completely and dirty from the ground, as well as his black pants.

He could almost hear her sigh, "I'm fine. What about you?"

The mercenary let out a scoff, "I'm golden." He said lowly, sarcasm obvious in his voice as he reached the wall, pressing his back on it. There was silence. Enough silence so Jake could think about how he had let Sherry down for a second time. He had let her be taken away, only to let himself be taken with her. "I'm gonna get you outta here, super girl. You just hold tight." It was a promise to her, but also a promise to himself not to fuck up again. Something he did regularly.

Jake heard her moving, almost feeling her warmth from the other side of the wall. It was almost like she was sitting right there with him. He took a breath, turning his head, as if to speak directly to her. "Where are we, anyway?" He asked.

The ground below him was slightly swaying, and his stomach turned.

"I think we're on a ship, but I don't know where." She answered. Of course Jake didn't expect her to know, anyway.

He didn't answer her. After all, his mind was cluttered with so many things. Mostly about how they were going to get the hell out of there and back home. Who was behind all this? Why was that Piers guy alive and trying to kill them? There were so many questions running through his head that he thought that his headache was starting to get significantly worse.

"Jake?" Sherry's voice spoke up shyly from behind him, past the wall.

His head perked up, since his eyes were staring at the ground, "Yeah?"

The mercenary could hear her rustling, "In case we don't get out of this alive…"

That was it. "Now you stop right there." He told her. Jake didn't know what she was going to say, but it would be best for her to tell him once they got out of there, "Whatever it is you need to tell me can wait till we get the hell out of here. Alright?" At his last word, he turned his head like he would've been looking at her.

Sherry was silent, but she rustled about some more.

Lazily, he leaned his head back, resting it against the wall as his eyes stared at the ceiling from an angle, thinking about the things he could say. It was easier now that he wasn't able to face her, since those blue eyes of hers made him feel not like himself. Those dreams of his meant something. Maybe it was time he talked about it.

"I had a father figure once." He spoke up, followed by a short sigh. "He trained me to become a mercenary, and was there for me after my mother died. I guess it's safe to say that I thought of him as my own father. But one day, we went on a mission, but it turns out, he turned out to be a spy, so we were ambushed." His heart hardened at the memory, "My whole team was killed, and he even tried to kill me. Pulled a knife out on me." Almost instinctively, Jake reached up to his face and touched the scar on his left cheek.

Sherry was silent for a moment before speaking up, "… You never told me that before." She commented.

He offered a dark chuckle, "Yeah, well, it's not something I like sharing with strangers." It was true. Jake had shared about half the story with her when he first met her back in Edonia a year and a half ago. But he felt like mentioning the man who he thought of as his father who also tried to kill him was a little bit much. "My mother told me that she hoped my real dad and I would find each other someday, and I know that it's never gonna happen, cause that bastard is dead. And I'm glad he is."

Jake would never understand why his mother was still enamored over his father when he got her pregnant and left without saying goodbye. As a matter of fact, he never gave a shit about her. That man abandoned her and her unborn child without looking back. Jake swore to himself that he would never be like his father. Someone who was so cold and unforgiving. So crazy and power-hungry. That wasn't Jake. That wasn't the person he wanted to be.

After the death of his mother, Jake was a completely different person. His heart was empty and broken. He loved his mother. She was the only person he had ever had compassion for, at least until he met that man who trained him and helped him become stronger and become a better mercenary. But after that betrayal, that heavy weight inside his chest that caused him so much pain hardened his heart and he felt like he was completely alone in the world. Eventually, money was the only thing that made him happy. It was his only purpose in life. Fight for money, and waste away in it until there was nothing left of him.

That was the destiny of a mercenary.

As his back pressed up against the wall, it almost felt like Sherry's hand was there, touching the fabric of his shirt. The warmth of her hand sunk into his skin as he closed his eyes, taking a breath as he shuddered. In his mind, he pictured her frail figure standing behind him with her dress torn so it was shortened, her hands on his back as they slowly grazed against him.

Jake opened his eyes, "I'm not like him. I know that now. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep it that way."

"I know you will." The blonde said, a smile heard in her voice. Jake forced a smile, too, even if she wouldn't be able to see it.

Just then, footsteps were heard just outside the door, and the mercenary's eyes darted to it just when keys were heard, rumbling around before unlocking the lock, swinging the door open as the bright like blinded his eyes. He forced him to look away, squeezing his eyes shut before he slowly opened them a moment after, peering up to the doorway, spotting a silhouetted figure standing there.

"Get up."

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	10. Resemblance

Chapter 10

Resemblance

Jake rolled over, watching the person in the door frame with eyebrows pulled together, trying to adjust to the bright light. From the other room, he heard Sherry's door swinging open, and she cried out. Immediately, the mercenary began to struggle, and the figure pursued him.

"I get said up." It was a woman's voice, and her hands grabbed Jake as she brought her leg up to kick him in the stomach.

His mouth hung open as the air inside him escaped him, taking a moment to gather oxygen as he doubled over, groaning. Sherry began screaming, "No! No! Get away from me!" Jake gathered his jumbled thoughts when he heard her screams, finding his center of gravity once the bottoms of his feet finally found the ground as he straightened his legs.

"Sherry!" He yelled after regaining his voice, looking up to the woman who stood in front of him, his eyes finally adjusting to the light.

"Jake, run!"

In that moment, his eyes slowly widened as he recognized the face. Fair skin. Brown eyes. Short black hair. Glossy lips. Long eyelashes and makeup. Rage built up inside him as the dots began to connect, and his fists tightened from behind his back as he lowered his head, keeping his eyes on the female.

"Well I'll be damned," He spoke in a sarcastic tone as the woman's lips formed into a light smile, crossing her arms, "If it isn't the friendly neighborhood Ada Wong."

_Meanwhile…_

Leon paced around, his impatience growing inside him. Chris sat in a chair, his elbow resting on the table as his hand grasped his chin, deep in thought. Ada stood in front of the screens, her arms crossed as her eyes scanned the maps that appeared on the numerous computers. It had been three hours since Jake and Sherry's abduction, and they were close to finding their location.

The cat stood there, adjusting the collar of her red shirt as she swayed her head gently to the side as Chris's radio began to speak.

"Captain, Alpha Team here. We have a location on Jake Muller and Agent Birkin's whereabouts."

At the sound of the soldier's voice, Leon turned his head, walking fast toward Chris, who still sat at the table as he brought his hand to his earpiece. "We discovered clues that lead the kidnapper's hiding place on a cruise ship heading back to Edonia."

Chris reacted, "Alpha Team, do you know who is behind this?" At this question, Ada, who was facing Chris, turned back to the computers. Leon gazed after her, but turned his attention back to Chris.

"No, Captain. But we pinpointed their location just South of the United Kingdom. We'll send a chopper your way."

"Copy that, Alpha Team." After that, Chris switched his earpiece off, looking at Leon, "We should get what we need before we go."

He nodded his head, heading off to the next room. Once there, he stood there for a moment, thinking about how they all got involved in this mess. Leon knew that this was what he needed to do, but Ada involved them in this for a reason. She wanted them to be here. Did she expect for Jake and Sherry to be abducted? Or was that the flaw in her plan?

Shaking the thoughts, Leon grabbed some holsters and put them on over his black t-shirt, reaching for a pistol and his knife to put into their designated spots. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Ada, who entered the weapon room he was in. She reached for her signature crossbow, positioning it so she could look through it, testing it out.

Leon watched her, "You know who's behind this, don't you?" He asked her. She didn't seem to react; Ada just lowered her weapon, reaching for a magnum with her other hand. Leon snatched her hand, his grasp firm. "Ada." He said sternly, "I'm tired of the games."

Her brown eyes found his green ones, her glossy lips forming into a sarcastic smile, "Oh, I thought you'd be tired of them a long time ago, Leon." She said, avoiding his question. As usual.

"I'm serious." His eyes were hard on her, and she blinked, her lashes long with mascara. Ada swayed her head, stepping forward as she stared at him. Leon didn't falter.

"I know."

Chris cleared his throat from behind them, "I hate to interrupt, but our chopper's here."

The black cat still stared at Leon, raising her crossbow next to her head with a smirk, "Let's get going then," She said to Chris, with a slight cock of her head as she turned around, walking out of the room with a sway of her hips.

_Thirty minutes later_

Above the ocean, the trio made their way to the cruise ship, which was in their sights now. Chris's radio was speaking to them.

"Alpha Team, this is HQ. Remember, the objective is to retrieve the hostages Jake Muller and Agent Sherry Birkin. We need them alive. Apprehend the suspects for interrogation. Kill them if you must."

_Meanwhile..._

From behind him, Ada pushed Jake into another room, and he landed hard on the ground. She grabbed his hands which were still held tight behind his back. He looked up from lying on his stomach, spotting Sherry, who was tied up.

"Jake!" She called, her face twisted with dismay. He could tell she had been crying, because her eyes were puffy and red.

Jake struggled some more, "Sherry!" He said, trying to get up. His mind wanted to know why she had told him to run before. Why she so desperately wanted him to leave her. "You bitch." He growled, turning over onto his back and sitting up to look at Ada, who wore a long blue dress with a high slit up her leg and a low cut, exposing most of her… womanly features. Jake tried not to stare. It was probably from the party before. Her hand rested on her hip as she stared down at him with a smile on her face.

"Surprised?" She teased with pleasure, shifting her weight.

From behind his back, he worked his ropes, trying to get them undone, "It was you all along, wasn't it? I knew you couldn't be trusted!" Jake starting mocking his struggling. "What is it that you're planning?!"

Ada smiled again, "Well, since the both of you are going to die, it wouldn't hurt to tell you about it." She turned, and began to walk around the room, "I have forged a virus from a specimen one year ago who possessed great abilities, none that I have ever seen. He survived an explosion underwater and managed to make his way to the surface alive. From there, my minions retrieved him, and after a year of developing mine and his body back to its original state, I have been working hard on my research. Developing a greater virus that will be unstoppable. And, for lesser words, bringing the dead back to life. And you, Jake Muller, are going to be the only cure for the world, once again." She smiled, "As we speak, there are thousands of these magnificent specimens aboard this ship, ready to be set loose on various parts of the world. Starting with your dear homeland, Edonia."

Jake's eyes followed her as she made her way around the room, "You're fucking nuts, lady."

Ada knelt down, leaning her arms on her knees as she moved forward, her breasts squishing together as her earrings jingled. Jake looked at her face, narrowing his eyes at her. She grabbed his face, leaning in close. She sighed with amusement, "You have your father's eyes." She told him, swaying her head as her thumb glided across his lips, "I see so much of him in you. Dazzling." He jerked his face away from her.

"Leave him alone!" Sherry shouted from behind Jake. Ada's brown eyes peered past him, staring at the blonde who was still tied up in the corner of the room.

Her eyebrows went up slightly with an amused expression, "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" She stood up straight, walking towards Sherry as her heels clicked on the hard ground, "Agent Sherry Birkin. All grown up. Tell me," She said, stopping just in front of Sherry, looking over her shoulder at the mercenary who sat on the floor, "What is this woman to you?"

Jake took a couple take, "What?"

"I said," Ada grabbed Sherry by her hair, yanking hard as she brought out a pistol, pointing it at Sherry's head. She yelped out in pain, "What… is… This woman to you?" She smiled, waiting for his answer, "Hm?"

The mercenary looked at Ada, then looked at Sherry. Her blue eyes stared deep into his, tears brimming in them as she struggled against the older woman. What was he supposed to say? No matter what he said, that woman was still going to put a bullet into Sherry's head. He worked even harder on the ropes that bound him.

_Come on…_ He thought, his eyebrows pulling together.

A noise came from the door, and someone's boots were heard just outside.

_Who the hell is it now?_

Jake looked over his shoulder, spotting a male wearing all black and a black trench coat. He had blonde hair that was slicked back, and he wore black sunglasses, despite being inside. He couldn't tell where he was looking, but for some reason, he got the impression that this guy was staring at him.

"Ah, I'm glad you've decided to join us, Albert." Ada said with a smile as she tugged at Sherry's hair again, whose eyes were wide, not believing what she was seeing as she mouthed the word 'no.'

"…You're just in time to kill your son."

**Author's Note**: Took me a little longer to write this one, I just haven't had the time to. But I'm back! And I hope you guys liked the new chapter. Make sure to leave reviews and let me know what you think!

I had a hard time deciding on whether or not I wanted to add Albert Wesker into my story, since he was killed by Chris, but I thought it would be a nice touch, since Jake is always talking/thinking about his dad. It would settle a lot of things between them, I think. Find out in the next chapter what the frick is going on in this little mind of mine in the next chapter!

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	11. Reunion

Chapter 11

Reunion

Chris was the first one to set foot on the cruise ship. The rope that he held onto from the chopper tangled wildly above his head as Ada made her way down, landing swiftly on her feet. And Leon was the last one, jumping down after Ada. Chris's radio began to speak again, and he pressed his fingers against his earpiece and looked up from the helicopter.

"You three are on your own for the time being. We're sending backup A.S.A.P."

The captain nodded to the instructions, motioning for Leon and Ada to follow as they made their way to the main passage of the ship, making their way down. They were making great progress until a rumbling under their feet, causing all three of them to lose their balance, stumbling about the hallway until the ground gave way, and they all three fell through.

Leon hit the ground hard onto his shoulder, and a searing pain was felt through his arm. He held his hand there, groaning when he heard Ada and Chris hit the ground, as well. "I'm getting too old for this." He grumbled to himself as he got up, helping Ada up. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah," Chris mumbled, picking up his shotgun which he had dropped during the fall. Ada looked off around the room.

"Looks like we fell into the main ballroom." She commented, taking a few steps until she stopped, looking up, "But why did we fall through the floor?" Ada looked back down, her eyes spotting the deformed Piers Nivans who was crawling on the ceiling, letting go and crashing down onto the chandelier, sending pieces of glass falling down towards the female. Her arms went up as she did a back handspring, her legs splitting in mid-air as she gently landed on one foot as the other touched down soon after.

The agent reached for his gun, "Looks like we've got company." He pulled it out of its holster and pointed it at Piers, whose eyes were unrecognizable at this point.

Chris's arm went up, touching Leon's chest, "Wait," He cautioned, looking up at his former partner, "Let me handle this. You two need to find Jake and Sherry."

"But Chris—!" Leon protested.

"—I said go!" The captain retorted loudly, never breaking eye contact from Piers.

Reluctantly, Leon followed Chris's orders, side-stepping away and grabbing Ada's arm as the two of them started running across the large room to the double doors.

A smile spread across Pier's face as he watched them run, "Not so fast!" He growled, his voice distorted from the virus. He positioned himself to lurch in their direction, but a bullet grazed his face, cutting his cheek on the left side where his face wasn't mutated. His discolored eyes found the captain, who stood there with his pistol aiming at Piers.

"It's just you and me, Piers."

Meanwhile, Leon and Ada made it to the doors, closing them loudly behind them. Leon was breathing heavy, and so was Ada, even though she tried her best to hide it. Their backs were both pressed to the door, and it all seemed silent on the other side for a moment until rapid gunfire was heard.

Leon pushed himself off the door, turning his head to the female, "We need to get going." And with that, the two were off to wherever they could to find Jake and Sherry before it was too late.

Soon, something burst from a door next to them, nearly knocking them over. Ada's hand pushed into Leon's chest as she jumped forward, dodging the door flying off its hinges and Leon was knocked backwards, nearly losing hold of his gun. In front of them, was a BOW that resembled the one from the plane crash.

"How many of these god damn things are there on this ship?" Leon cursed, pointing his pistol at the creature as electricity coursed through its grotesque arms, its face mutated.

"Leon." Ada said with caution heard in her voice as he caught a glimpse of her pointing her crossbow at the BOW, an explosive arrow inside it, ready to fire. But then it caught sight of her and swung, hitting her hard and sending her spiraling down the long hallway.

The agent stepped forward, "Ada!" He began shooting at the BOW, who now was charging after him. He timed it just right in his head as the creature got closer and closer, and at the last second, he dove forward, getting in between its legs as he rolled to the other side, grabbing Ada's crossbow on the ground. "Eat this, you son of a bitch."

He pulled the trigger, sending the arrow flying into the BOW's back as the detonator went off, bursting a large hole into its body, and it soon collapsed into fire and ashes. Leon lowered his arm as he sighed, turning around and heading in Ada's direction.

"Ada! Ada, are you all right?" He asked her as he knelt down, his hands on her shoulders as she lumped against the wall.

She groaned, sitting up, "I thought maybe I could sit down for a little while. My feet were starting to hurt." Ada looked up, finding Leon's gaze as he offered a warm smile.

"Getting kicked around, and you're still the same Ada." Leon commented, tilting his head to the side as he looked into her eyes. She smiled, too, but it wasn't the same kind of smile Leon's was. He couldn't quite pinpoint it.

But then a gunshot was heard, and Ada and Leon's heads both turned in its direction and they began running to its source.

_Fifteen minutes ago…_

"What?" Jake asked in disbelief.

Could it be? The person that he had hated his whole life without ever meeting him, was standing here in front of him now? But… Wasn't he dead? No…. This wasn't making any sense. It couldn't be!

Ada laughed from behind him, "Surprised?" She teased again, "My research has been able to bring back the dead. Albert Wesker; new and improved."

It was strange, because it was Ada who told Jake that his father was an imbecile who tried to destroy the world. And how she tried all this time to bring him back, and try to destroy the world alongside him.

But what did she mean by 'new and improved'?

Wesker chucked darkly as he folded his arms, looking down at his son who was still bound, working at the ropes that held his hands together. "After all this time, I'm finally able to meet my son." He commented, "But unfortunately, I'm going to have to kill you. Such a pity." He spoke his last sentence in mock sorrow.

"Fuck you." Jake said in a low voice, his cold blue eyes staring up at his father. It was funny how those were his first words spoken to his own blood. No… This wasn't his father. It was only a BOW created with the same DNA as his father. He may have Wesker's memories and personality, but he wasn't his father.

The blonde male shook his head, tsking to himself as he stepped around the mercenary, "Now, now, now, dear boy. That's no way to speak to your father."

Jake shook his head, a dark smile on his lips, "—No, no, no. You're not my father. I had a father once, but he abandoned my pregnant mother and was killed a long time ago. You're just a fake." He let out a sarcastic chuckle.

Wesker had a look of mock disappointment on his face, "Is that what you think, Jake?" He asked rhetorically, turning his attention to Ada who still held a gun to Sherry's head. "You've angered your father, so now I will make you suffer in the worst way possible." He smiled to Ada, "Kill her."

She returned the smile, "Gladly." Her arm straightened as she leaned a bit backwards, her hand balled up into a fist full of Sherry's blonde hair.

Jake's heart sank into his stomach. His ropes were loose now, and he went to release himself, and perhaps scream something. But no words came. His voice just gave out on him as horror swept through him when Ada's finger tightened around the trigger.

"Jake…"

Just then, a loud explosion was heard somewhere close by, causing the ground to shake violently. Immediately after that, a gunshot was heard, and Jake's breath escaped him. There was nothing. He turned his head sharply to the noise as his hands were released, and his legs finally started working to stand up.

"No!" He screamed, his eyes finding Sherry's figure on the ground, a blood pool forming slowly around her, her arm went up as she groaned. Sherry was still alive, but that didn't change how pissed off he was. "You fucking_ bitch_!" His form charged after Ada, fists ready to strangle her slowly and painfully, but he heard the door swing open from behind him, and an arrow soon zoomed past his ear, penetrating Ada's forehead. Her figure flew backward, blood squirting from the entry wound.

Without words, Jake spun around to see the person who shot the arrow, only for his facial expression to twist into a look of dismay.

"What… The hell?"

There, standing in the doorway, was Ada Wong, and Leon was at her side.


	12. Mission

Chapter 12

Mission

Jake turned his attention away from the double Ada and knelt to Sherry's side, landing a hand on her shoulder as he turned her over, "Sherry! Sherry!" He yelled as he gently shook her.

She groaned, her hand going up to her chest. Blood spilled through her fingers and down her arm. A wound probably penetrating her lungs, just underneath her collarbone. Jake didn't see an exit wound, so the bullet was still inside her. Leon ran towards the two, kneeling down next to Jake.

"Get away from her," The second Ada said, referring to the other Ada. "Now." She raised her crossbow again, pointing it at the 'dead' Ada. Wesker, realizing he was greatly outnumbered, smiled as he gestured to his son.

"I'll see you around." He commented as he made a break for it.

Leon got up, pointing his gun, "Stop!" He exclaimed, shooting three times, but missing Wesker, since he was a lot faster than any normal human being. "Damn it!" Leon growled, shaking his head.

Jake grabbed Sherry's other arm, wrapping it over his shoulder as his other hand held her waist while he stood. In that moment, the other Ada shot up, mutating and apparently melting away into a disgusting gray matter that seemed to be dissolving the ground around her.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Jake demanded at Leon. He was just as surprised as he was, though.

"This isn't the time to be explaining myself, now is it?" Ada answered for Leon, "But right now, we have bigger things on our hands." Now, the other Ada was mutating greatly, and her feminine figure was now distorted into disgusting blobs.

"You… You've destroyed my body!" Her voice was distorted from the apparent virus seeping through her, "I'll make you pay for this!"

Ada's brown eyes glanced in Jake's and Leon's direction, "You three better get out of here. I have some unfinished business to settle."

"No," Leon protested, stepping forward. "I'll stay here." He smiled, despite the situation, "Besides, you could use some help."

The cat swayed her head, seeming to accept that there was no persuading Leon now, "If you insist." After she spoke, Leon's attention was turned to Jake, who was keeping Sherry on her feet. She was losing a lot of blood, and her regenerating abilities wouldn't kick in until that bullet was removed, and she was slowly losing consciousness.

"You need to take care of Sherry," Leon told him, "Promise me."

The situation was dire. Jake knew that. But he didn't know if he could help her in time. Leon's faith was in him, and Sherry's life was now in his hands. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." He said, eyeing the mutating Ada from his left, "You two be careful, alright?"

"We will." Leon assured him, "Now go!"

Jake took no time in following Leon's instructions, for Sherry had little time left, but just when he was about to leave, the mutating Ada's arm hit Jake, and the two of them went crashing through the wall into another room, and the floor caved in from underneath them. He landed hard on the ground, losing grip of Sherry as she landed some feet away from him.

The mercenary struggled to get up, getting up and grabbing her, dragging her down the hallway into another room. From the chaos and noise around him, he heard Sherry's faint whisper.

"… Just leave me." She said, so soft that Jake had to strain his ears to hear her. "I'll only… slow you down."

Jake offered a scoff, "Yeah, right. I'm not leaving you behind, supergirl." He let her down gently as he slammed the door shut, locking it, as if it would do any help anyway since the whole ship was crawling with BOWs. It appeared that they had found themselves in a storage unit.

He knew what he needed to do, and that was to remove the bullet from Sherry's chest. The thought made his stomach turn as flashbacks of that large scrap of metal pierced Sherry's back, leaving only him to pull it out in fear that she would bleed to death.

No… Sherry was strong. She could pull through anything. She was the strongest person he had ever known. Stronger than himself. Jake searched around lockers and cartons to find anything he needed, any sort of weapon.

"Sherry," He murmured, kneeling down next to her as he reached for a knife, "I'm going to have to get that bullet out." This was the hard part. Putting Sherry into more pain.

"—Jake," She tried to protest.

"—If I don't, you'll die! He interrupted her, his voice urgent.

At his voice, Sherry's eyes calmed a little, her mouth forming into a sad smile. "All right." She said, looking up at him with hope in her eyes. "Do it."

He nodded, handing her a chunk of wood to place in her mouth. The mercenary cut into her chest, and she stiffened, crying out from the pain. _I'm sorry_, he kept repeating in his head as he stuck his fingers inside, looking for the bullet. _I'm so sorry._ Finally, after what seemed like hours, he found the silver bullet inside her, and pulled it out.

Sherry let out a sigh of relief as she took the piece out of her mouth, the wound slowly closing up now. Her icy blue hues found his, and she smiled.

"Thank you." She whispered, sitting up on her own and rolling her shoulder.

Jake's hands held onto her, helping her up again. It took her a second to regain her balance, but she was okay. "Alright, let's get the hell out of here, shall we?" Jake gestured to the blonde, and she nodded to him as they both made their way to the nearest door.

_Meanwhile…_

"Snap out of it, Piers!" Chris yelled, "You don't wanna do this!" His gun was pointing at the mutated soldier as he stood at the other end of the room. "Don't you remember me? It's me. Chris Redfield." His words didn't seem to faze him, but Chris kept trying, "Come on, Piers! The BSAA needs you!"

Suddenly, Piers' eyes widened as he doubled over again, his non-mutated hand reaching for his head as he thrashed around. "C.." He tried uttering out, "Cap…tain…" He seemed to be in a battle inside his own body. The younger male slowly fell to his knees as he leaned forward, "Help… me."

Chris's body seemed to react, like a switch going off in his head. He rushed to his former partner, wanting to lend a hand, but didn't want to get hurt in the process, so he kept his distance. "Piers!"

He looked up, his face twisted in dismay, "Chris." Piers uttered in pain, "That woman… She is not Ada Wong…"

The captain shook his head, trying to figure out what he meant, "What?" He asked.

"She's… an imposter. She was created by Derek… Simmons. She… controlled the virus inside me to her will." His voice was becoming strained now, as he fought back the pain, "Her real name is Carla Radames."

This wasn't making any sense, but Chris just shook his head, stepping closer to Piers as he knelt down. "Piers, you're not making much sense."

"—She's a copy of Ada Wong!" He shouted, but the strain from the yelling calmed his voice as he gritted his teeth, grunting from whatever pain was burning inside him, "You boarded this ship with the real Ada. The copy is somewhere on this ship. With her… she holds strains of vaccinations and cures for the C-Virus that she plans to destroy."

Chris shook his head again, "How do you know all this?"

The younger male grunted again, his breathing growing heavy, "… Because the real Ada Wong's mission is to kill me."


	13. Affection

**Author's Note:** This chapter is kinda short, and it's going to surround Leon and Ada only. I feel like these two need some special time in my story. C: This chapter took me a long time to write, because LeonxAda isn't really my forte, but I hope you guys enjoy it!

Chapter 13

Affection

"Jake!" Leon shouted as the gray matter hit the two of them, sending them crashing through a wall. As he stepped forward, Ada grabbed his arm, and he spun around to face her.

"Don't." She told him, "They'll be fine. We have this one to worry about." As she spoke, she turned her head in the direction of Carla, who was mutating disgustingly.

As much as he wanted to go after Jake and Sherry, he knew that Ada was right. They could pull through whatever obstacle was thrown at them. "You're right." He said after a moment of silence between the two of them.

She nodded, "I've seen her do this before, and if we don't hurry, she's going to take down this whole ship with her." Ada began side-stepping, grabbing Leon by the sleeve of his shirt, "Now run!"

Leon followed her orders without question, running through the hallways along with Ada as gray natter began to seep through every crevice. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they finally made it to a sealable door, and they closed themselves inside of it.

Their breaths were heavy as they stood there in the dark, feeling the ship sway violently at the wrath of the copy Ada. Just when Leon was about to say something, Ada cried out in pain.

"Ada?" He questioned, "What's wrong?"

She held her side as her eyebrows pulled together, turning her palm right side up, and revealing blood on her hand. Immediate panic surged through the male agent as he took a sharp breath.

"What the hell happened?!" He exclaimed, looking from her hand, to her face.

She offered a smile, "Just a little scratch. I'll be fine."

Leon remembered earlier, when that BOW came out of nowhere and hit her. She had pushed him out of the way. He shook his head as he cursed himself for not noticing sooner. "No," He argued, "Let me see that."

She didn't' argue, so Leon lifted up her shirt just enough so he could see the wound on her side. It was bleeding a lot, and the agent almost felt uneasy. But he had seen things much worse than this. "We need to stop the bleeding." He told her.

As he was searching for something to put pressure on the wound, his eyes caught of glimpse of Ada's brown ones, which were looking at him with a tired expression. In the midst of his panic, her stare eased his heart, if only for a moment.

She grunted again, "I should've been more careful."

At her words, Leon's eyes darted back up to hers, "Don't say that. You're going to be fine, okay?" Leon didn't even know that for sure or not. That wound was deep, and it had to of pierced an organ or two. Hopefully nothing too serious. Her skin was beginning to get paler now that she was losing so much blood. "Ada, stay with me, alright?" This brought back too many memories. Leon didn't want to lose Ada again. Not like this.

He had found a piece of cloth and had pressed it up against Ada's side. She winced, and he silently apologized, "You came here to kill that woman, didn't you?" Leon said after not speaking for a while. His voice seemed to of quieted the whole ship, if only for a moment. "She's an exact copy of you, and you didn't want anyone to know. That's why you didn't tell us about her. You didn't want us knowing that someone had stolen your identity."

She was quiet for a long time, and Leon was getting tired of waiting for a response, "I don't understand a lot of things, I know that. But you need to tell me what's going on here if you want me to help."

"I don't need your help." Ada said immediately after him, her voice harsh. She winced again, and she exhaled deeply before continuing, "I can do this on my own."

Leon shook his head, "You don't have to do this alone, Ada." He reached for her other hand, which was pressed against the ground. His other was still compressing onto the cloth which was soaking up in blood.

Her eyes glanced down at his hand on top of hers, and then she looked up at him, but she didn't say anything.

"I'm tired of standing back and not being able to do anything." Leon told her, "I won't let you die just because you're too damn stubborn to let anyone else help you." It was true. This was how it had always been, since the moment he met her. Leon cared deeply for Ada, he knew that. And he knew that she knew, as well. Maybe she even cared for him in the same way he cared for her.

The male reached for her face, his fingertips touching the soft skin of her cheek. Ada blinked, "Leon…"

As she spoke, he leaned in, pressing his lips against hers as he silenced her. He pulled away after a moment, opening his eyes to see hers staring back at him, eyes full of bewilderment. She offered a smile, "You really are clueless, aren't you, Leon?"

He chuckled darkly, "I wouldn't have to be if you explained things."

She sighed, seemingly not wanting to explain everything, "That woman's real name is Carla Radames. Simmons created her out of his sick obsession with me, but soon after she was created, she turned on him and decided to destroy his Family and the world. To put it shortly, yes, my mission is to destroy her once and for all, and these creatures she's created." The ship swayed violently once more, causing the two of them to fall to the side. Objects and boxes stacked on top of each other fell all around them, "We have to get off this ship first. We'll destroy Carla, Wesker, and these abominations along with it." Ada told Leon.

"But what about Jake, Sherry, and Chris?"

"They'll find their way." She assured him, "Don't they always?"

Leon smiled, "You're right. Let's get the hell out of here."


	14. Finale

Chapter 14

Finale

"Piers, what the hell are you talking about?" The captain urged, his steps lingering closer to the younger male, who only shook his head in disapproval.

He grunted again, "Don't you understand? She sees me as a threat, so she won't be able to complete her mission until Carla, Wesker, and I—along with the thousands of BOWs on board are dead."

Chris opened his mouth to speak, but did a double take as he shook his head quickly, "—Wait, did you just say Wesker?"

Piers' eyes looked up at his captain, who looked even more confused than ever. "He's just like Carla. He's only a copy, although he still possesses the same personality and memories as the true Albert Wesker."

The captain was quiet for a long time, but he knew now what he needed to do. This whole plan was senseless. Piers' death wasn't going to be necessary. "I'm going to get you out of here, Piers." He told the younger male.

"No!" He retorted quickly as Chris came to grab him. His normal hand shoved Chris hard on the chest, and he stepped back quickly, regaining his balance. His face seemed shocked, "Piers?" Chris uttered, his voice showing a hint of hurt.

The younger male shook his head, "If I go with you, I'll only end up killing you." After he spoke, the ship began to shake violently, causing Piers to lurch in different directions, while Chris stumbled around. Once he regained his balance, his voice pounded through the sounds of the ship's creaking sounds.

"That's a chance I'm willing to take." Chris said, his hand reaching for Piers. "If those cures are somewhere on this ship, I'm going to find them. I'm going to make sure you get out of this in one piece."

Piers blinked, "Captain—"

The older male knelt down, his hand holding onto the back of Piers' head, his gaze never faltering, "I'm not going to let you die, Piers. I promise you that."

_Meanwhile…_

Jake and Sherry made their way through the halls, staggering about at the ship's constant sways and violent shakes. "Looks like we're going to have to ditch this ship before we both go down with it." The mercenary pointed out after another shaking episode concluded. Sherry nodded her head.

"We're going to have surface on deck and find some rafts." The blonde made her way to a flight of stairs, which was blocked off by the tall figure of Wesker. He stared down at the two of them, bending his neck so it cracked.

"You two aren't going anywhere." He said, holding up his hands as he cracked his knuckles.

This looked like it was going to be a fight, so Jake stepped forward, grabbing Sherry's wrist and pulling her behind him. "—Jake!" She protested from over his shoulder, "We can still run."

His eyes glanced back as he offered a smirk, "Since when do I ever run from a fight?" Jake's eyes found Wesker's, who was stepping down the steps slowly. He rolled his shoulders, "'Sides, when am I ever gonna have another chance to beat the shit out of my old man?"

Sherry wanted to protest, but there was no consoling Jake now. When he had his heart set on something, there was no changing his mind. She was well aware of that. Silently, she stepped away, keeping her eyes on the two male figures.

Wesker was the one to throw the first punch, and Jake darted out of the way, giving a sharp uppercut in return, who also let out a loud laugh afterwards. He then began throwing punch after punch, landing them once after the other. "What's the matter, asshole?" Jake taunted after he landed another punch, "You're makin' this too easy!"

The beaten male figure was leaned forward, and he slowly rose to a straightened position. His sunglasses were cracked, so he removed them, revealing inhuman-colored eyes as he smirked, "My turn." After he spoke, his fists seemed to of came in a barrage, knocking Jake in all sorts of directions until he knocked him down.

"Jake!" Sherry cried, "Get up!"

` The mercenary groaned in annoyance, getting up and putting up his fists, "I'm good, I'm good!" He reassured her, "I'm just gettin' started!"

The two fought each other mercilessly, but Sherry knew that Jake was getting tired. She had to do something to help. "Come on, Jake…" She mused to herself. The redhead male kicked the other, sending something across the ground and towards Sherry's feet. She looked down, seeing that it was a pistol. Quickly, she picked it up, pointing it in the direction of Wesker, aiming for his head.

"—Jake!" She said with a warning tone. Once he turned to face her, he offered a scoff, moving out of the way. "Die, you son of a bitch!" And with that, she pulled the trigger, and the bullet hit the blonde in the head, and his body lurched backward at the impact of the bullet.

Jake stepped to Sherry, looking at the body lying on the ground, "Nice shot, supergirl." He told her.

"Thanks. Now let's get out of here." Before the two of them could even get moving, a loud bang was heard, and the ship swung back and forth violently once more.

"—The hell was that?" Jake exclaimed, looking around and feeling the ground shake from underneath them.

The blonde opened her mouth to speak, but the floor gave out from underneath them, and they fell through. She landed hard on an elevated landing, lifting herself up slowly as she recovered from the fall. But she soon realized that the two of them were above a pit of fire and debris, along with the engine of the ship that was completely destroyed.

Her eyes were filled with panic, "Jake!" She called, her eyes searching for him. His figure rose with a hand on his head, and his gaze met with hers.

"I'm alright!" He reassured her. Jake was across the way on the opposite end of a narrow metal walkway, and just when Sherry was about to run across, Wesker's large, mutated form landed just in front of her, knocking her backward. The blonde spun at the hard impact, slamming against the wall. "Sherry!" Jake called.

Albert's mutated figure spun around, and the narrow walkway began to sway with the weight, unable to hold it. "You're just like your mother," His voice taunted Jake, "Weak and feeble. Always worrying about other people when you should be worrying about yourself." Wesker smirked, "Forget her, son. Come and join Carla and I in our quest for world domination."

As the mutated figure of his father spoke, Jake just shook his head, eyes watching him closely and with complete disgust. He raised his gun, pointing it at Albert, who laughed loudly at Jake's threat.

"Jake," He said in a sing-song voice, laughing some more afterwards, "Come to daddy."

With a cock of his head, and a furrow of his brow, Jake shifted his aim to the walkway and tightened his finger around the trigger, "You're not my father. And you never will be." And with that, Jake's finger completely tightened around the trigger, and the walkway gave through, and Wesker fell down into the deep, fiery abyss.

Sherry stepped forward, watching him as he fell, screaming all the way down. She looked up, meeting gazes with Jake with a smile. But now, how was she supposed to get across?

"Sherry," Jake called, reaching his hand out, "Jump!"

She immediately shook her head, "I can't! It's too far!"

"Come on, Sherry!" He urged, his gaze hard. But then his eyes softened after another explosion was heard to the right of him, but he didn't flinch. "I've got you." He said, his voice softer now.

For some reason, Jake's words soothed her. She felt safe. But she told herself she wouldn't look down, and she would just jump. After she took a deep breath, the blonde stepped back, and took a running start before leaping across the fiery abyss and reaching as far as she could for Jake's hand.

Like some miracle, she felt Jake's hand wrap around her forearm, and she swung around wildly until he reached with his other hand, and Sherry grabbed him as he began to pull her up. Once she was standing, her hands were on his chest, and her breath was heavy with adrenaline. She looked up at the mercenary, who was already looking down at her, a sentimental smile gracing his features past the dirt and sweat that dirtied his face.

The ship shook again, and more explosions burst around them, "We have to get out of here, now!" Sherry exclaimed, and Jake shook his head before taking her hand and heading up to the deck. They both spotted areas where the lifeboats would be, and they found Ada and Leon hoisting up a boat to escape. When they made their way over to them, Leon turned around, his face swept with relief.

"It's great to see you two are alright." He said, a sigh of relief in his voice, "Where's Wesker?"

"Dead." Jake answered plainly, heading towards the escape boat and untying the ropes that held it in place, "Let's just get off his god damn boat."

"We have to hurry." Ada told them, her voice sounding very tired, "I implanted a bomb on this ship that's timed to detonate in approximately three minutes. It'll destroy Carla and her minions."

No matter how confused Jake was, he wasn't going to waste time asking questions, so he just continued untying the ropes. Ada winced, and Sherry rushed to her side, "Hey, you alright?"

"I'll be fine." She reassured the younger female, her gaze finding Leon's with a decent smile, "You can thank Leon for that."

After she spoke, everyone heard multiple footsteps heading up the stairs and onto the deck. It was Chris and Piers, who was still mutated and seemingly greatly fatigued. He didn't look like he had much time. But Chris was carrying a brief case.

"Ada," He said, throwing the brief case at Ada's feet.

"The hell is that?" Jake inquired, looking over his shoulder while Leon helped him with the escape boat.

The sly cat smiled, swaying her head as she recognized the brief case, "That just made my mission a lot easier."

And after she spoke, her timer went off, and her eyes darted to Leon and Jake. "—Leon." She said, her voice urgent, and he looked at her.

"Everybody jump!" Leon commanded, and everyone seemed to react like a light switch going off, and before anybody knew it, everyone was off the ship, and it began exploding as they crashed into the water.

Jake surfaced first, then Leon, then Chris and Piers, then Ada and Sherry. They all looked up at the wreckage of the ship as explosions continued to occur, and Carla's loud, distorted screams echoed through the sounds of the flames and debris.

Ada spoke up, "Goodbye, Carla." She said, "And good riddance."

**Author's Note: **Attention, this is not the last chapter! There will be an epilogue. It's so sad that my story is now coming to an end, and I've had such a wonderful time writing this for you guys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'm going to make sure the epilogue is the perfect closing to my fanfiction. Stay tuned!


	15. Epilogue - Home

Chapter 15 – Epilogue

Home

The London airport was busy, and Sherry was handing Jake his final bag before he went to board his plane. After her hands were empty, she wasn't sure what to do with them, so she just held her upper arms, feeling the texture of the denim of her jacket. Jake seemed uneasy, and she felt it, too. Goodbyes weren't her favorite thing, and especially since she felt like there was so much between them that needed settled.

Her hand went up and brushed blonde hairs out of her face and behind her ear, "Well, that's the last of your carry-on." She told him, forcing a smile.

"Yeah," He said, huffing out a laugh, gesturing towards her. Jake paused, opening his mouth, but hesitating like he didn't quite know what to say, "Guess… I'll be seeing you?"

Sherry took a breath, nodding her head as she stepped forward and gently wrapped her arms around him, "Yeah." She breathed.

Jake took a double-take. Contact like his wasn't really familiar to him, so he wasn't quite sure what to do. But after a moment, he rested one hand on her back, and the other behind her head, her blonde hair twining between his fingers. After embracing for a moment, a voice was heard over the speakers, "Flight to Edonia boarding now. Flight will begin for take-off in ten minutes." Jake pulled away. "See you around, supergirl." He told her before turning away and heading in the direction of his flight.

The mercenary cursed himself, once again. How come he was shitting himself over saying a proper goodbye to Sherry? Why did it matter so much?

Sherry stood there and watched him go, but she had to leave and pack for her own flight back to the U.S. As she exited the airport, she looked off to the ocean, looking around and spotting the car with Leon inside. He, however, was having his own problems. The agent looked at his phone, and checked his messages. In his phone, was a voicemail that spoke into his ear. This was probably the third or fourth time he listened to it.

"Leon, don't blame yourself. I know you're confused and you still have a lot of questions, and maybe someday, I can answer those questions. But right now, I have a lot on my schedule. I can't see you now, but I will later." There was a long pause, and Leon counted the seconds until Ada spoke again, "You know I care about you, and maybe…" There was another pause, and Ada shook off the thought, "Thank you for everything. See you around, Leon."

Meanwhile, Jake was just about to enter the doors to his flight, but before handing the attendant his ticket, he paused. Was this really what he wanted? Did he really just want to leave again, not knowing until he'd be able to see Sherry again? Was he just going to wait until the next Umbrella attack?

No. It wasn't going to be like that.

"Sir?" The woman said, waiting for him to hand her his ticket, "Is this your flight?"

Jake snapped out of his daze, locking eyes with the woman before huffing out a scoff, "Not in this lifetime, lady."

Meanwhile, Sherry was standing outside the airport, looking out to the ocean, and watching in awe at the seagulls and the sun almost painted in the bright blue sky. She couldn't believe that it was that time already to say goodbye to Jake, and she couldn't help but feel like there was something missing. The blonde reached up to her chest, playing with the top buttons of her denim jacket that weren't fastened.

That was when she heard a familiar, "Hey!" from behind her, and she spun around, spotting the redhead, walking fast as if he was on some sort of mission.

"Jake?" She called out in disbelief, "Your plane—"

Jake cut her off, dropping his bags on the ground, "Just shut up for a second, will ya?" And before she could even blink, Jake was holding her face in both of his hands before he leaned down, pressing his lips against hers. It was forceful at first, but they softened soon after. Sherry's eyes were wide open, but after a moment to recover, she closed her eyes and rested her hands on his chest.

Her heart was skipping beat after beat, she just thought that she would die. It was almost as if the kiss didn't last long enough until Jake pulled away, his eyes locked on Sherry's.

"Jake, I—" She started, trying to gather her thoughts, "You're going to miss your plane."

He huffed out a laugh, looking off to the side in mock disbelief as she shifted his weight. His eyes found hers again while his lips twisted into a sly smirk, "Yeah, well, who cares?"

Sherry shook her head, "I don't understand. Does that mean..?" She couldn't believe it. Was Jake really going to stay?

"Eh," Jake shrugged, flashing her another smirk, "Maybe staying in America wouldn't be a bad thing."

The blonde offered him a smile, but before she could say anything else, a car horn was heard just behind them, and they turned to see the source. It was Leon in the car, behind the wheel while Chris and the bandaged Piers were both inside another vehicle. The younger male wore a patch over his eye with a sling on his arm. What was inside of the brief case that Ada opened was the cures and vaccines for the potent C-Virus that Carla had created, and thus curing Piers. Guess everything was just back to normal.

Leon smiled, "You two coming or what?"

The blonde waved to the older agent, "We're coming!" And with that, she began walking towards the car, and Jake turned off towards the sea, staring out to the water. The sun reflected on his skin as he closed his eyes, breathing in, then out. His blue eyes opened as he smirked again. This was the beginning of a new life for Jake. Leaving being a mercenary far behind him.

"Hey, Jake." Sherry called from behind him, and he turned slightly to look at her, who was standing there with one hand on her hip and a pleasant smile as the wind gently moved her blonde hair, "Let's go home."

Jake bobbed his head slightly as another smile swept across his lips, "Home, huh?" He mused to himself before grabbing his bags from the ground and headed towards Sherry and Leon.

"I could get used to that."

**Author's note**: Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck it out with me and read all of the chapters to this fanfiction. You all have no idea how much it means to me that. I am glad that I am able to share my thoughts with all of you and I hope you all enjoyed it. Please leave reviews if you haven't already, and once again, thanks! Will most likely be making more fanfiction in the future. :)


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